The Board of Supervisors reviewed Cycle 2 of the county’s Community Services Grant applications on April 22 and proceeded to allocate the county’s available funds across a range of local nonprofit requests.

County Executive Derek Johnson told the board the program is intended for one-time grants to community nonprofit providers; the target pool for Cycle 2 was approximately $200,000. A total of 97 requests were submitted, totaling roughly $952,940. Requests ranged from $1,000 to $10,000 per applicant; all requests and staff recommendations were posted on the county website.

During the meeting supervisors each announced allocations for organizations in their districts and indicated award amounts. Examples publicly announced during the meeting include Supervisor Susan Lukin’s recommendations of five awards at $8,000 each (San Jose Middle School boosters; North Marin Community Services; RISE Scholars Hamilton chess program; Sustainable Marin Schools; Youth Transforming Justice). Supervisor Rodoni announced several $5,000 awards for local community centers and nonprofits in his area. Supervisor Milton Peters listed multiple small awards for Southern Marin community organizations (amounts from $1,000–$4,500). Supervisor Damon Colbert announced several allocations ranging from $2,000 to $10,000 for child, arts and health organizations. Several applicants gave in‑person pitches during public comment.

County staff noted that the board’s statements on the record would be used to guide final disbursements and that the county executive’s office was authorized to perform the arithmetic and finalize the distribution and allocations so funds could be distributed promptly.

Why it matters: The Community Services Grants provide one-time operating or capital support for a wide range of small local programs. This cycle drew substantial demand well above available funding, requiring the board to prioritize a subset of applicants.

What’s next: County staff will finalize award amounts and notify grantees. The board indicated additional discretionary suggestions for possible supplemental funding and asked the county executive to factor those into final calculations as appropriate.