A five-person volunteer committee created to determine how to distribute $30,000 to local civic and cultural organizations gave its recommended proposal to the York County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night.
The board voted unanimously to adopt the Civic and Cultural Grants Advisory Committee’s recommendation, which gives the Lackey Free Medical Clinic more than $8,000 and disburses the rest of the $30,000 to eight of 14 organizations that applied for funding during the 2014 budget season.
Fund allocation for nonprofits from fiscal year 2014, which ended June 30, had to be delayed by several months while the county revamped the way money was allocated to nonprofits and community organizations after Supervisor Walt Zaremba called the $520 proposed contribution to the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program an “embarrassment” at a May work session.
A five-person committee was then created to take the task of allocating a small portion of the budget out of the board’s hands and into those of the citizens, who benefit from the organizations, Supervisor Tom Shepperd told WYDaily.
With the committee’s recommendation, CASA received $2,500, while York County Meals on Wheels and Transitions Family Violence Services each received $3,500. Other organizations such as Hospice House and Housing Partnerships Inc. received $1,500 each.
Committee member John Zwirschitz said the committee met twice for several hours to discuss how to allocate the $30,000 among 14 organizations. All the committee members agreed the biggest challenge was not having enough money to give to all the organizations. More than $90,000 was requested from the 14 organizations.
Zwirschitz explained the Lackey Free Medical Clinic — a free health clinic that started in 1995 and has grown to 30 employees and more than 300 volunteers while serving more than 10,000 people per year — received the most amount of money because they ranked higher than any other organization on evaluation criteria and because the county has traditionally not allocated funding to it in the past.
The county evaluated each organization’s request based on the following criteria:
- The need for the program in the community
- The quality of the program’s delivery
- The development of non-county support
- The relative values or benefit to the community
- The organization’s ability to demonstrate fiscal responsibility and accountability
- The number of service units
Before the creation of the committee, the Board of Supervisors was gradually cutting contributions to outside agencies, Supervisor Tom Shepperd said.
“The board decided over a three-year period to cut that money basically to zero,” he said in November, citing the recession, sequestration and state funding cuts as the reason for the dwindling contributions.
In 2010, the board gave a total of $119,130 to nonprofits. In 2011, the amount was cut nearly in half to $56,836, then in half again for 2012 to $23,495.
Shepperd said the board decided in the third year of cuts that certain organizations “could provide to constituents better than the bureaucracy” and that it was not worth cutting all the funds if some funding could become the government’s responsibility.
Supervisor Sheila Noll worked closely with the committee members and said she was pleased with the decision of the members.
“I think it’s important that the citizens make the decision on how we spend the money on the nonprofits,” she said.
Zwirschitz said the committee would be meeting again in January to discuss the organizations’ requests for funding for fiscal year 2015, which began July 1 and runs until June 30, 2015.
Below is a list that details how much funding the 14 organizations requested and how much the supervisors allocated:
- The American Red Cross requested $5,000 after a year in which the group helped eight York citizens with disaster assistance. Through the committee’s recommendation, the board allocated $3,300.
- Avalon: A Center for Women and Children assisted 16 York County residents last year. The group’s approximately $3,900 funding request fell short by $400, as the committee recommended to allocate $3,500.
- CASA requested $7,500 and were given $2,500. The group served 29 York County children, making up 26 percent of its entire case load.
- The Colonial Soil & Water Conservation District requested $18,000 but was given no funding.
- The Daughters of the American Revolution’s Comte de Grasse chapter based in Yorktown requested $2,000. No money was allocated to the group.
- Foster Grandparents requested $1,000 in funding. The group, which has two stipend foster grandparents who volunteer with York County Head Start, received no funding.
- The Historic Triangle Senior Center reported that seniors participated in 847 activities last year. The group requested $2,500 and was not given any funding.
- Hospice House and Support Care of Williamsburg provided 3,200 days of service to York County residents last year. The group’s requested $1,500 was met in full by the committee.
- Housing Partnerships Inc. provided 15 home repairs for York County residents last year. The group requested $10,000 and was given $1,500.
- The Peninsula Center for Independent Living provided 250 hours of independent living counseling to York County citizens last year. The group requested $5,000, and the committee suggested no money be allocated.
- The Lackey Free Clinic provided 1,715 behavioral and mental health visits to York County residents last year. The group asked for $44,947 in funding and the board voted to give $8,200.
- The Peninsula Agency on Aging provided 2,230 dining center meals, 2,445 home delivered meals and 1,492 personal care hours to York County citizens last year. The group requested $3,583, and the committee allocated $3,500.
- Transitions Family Violence Services handled 11 hotline calls from York County residents. The group requested $10,000, while the board voted to give $3,000.
- Williamsburg Land Conservancy requested $2,500. The group has 417 acres of conservation easements in York County. The committee allocated nothing.
- York County Meals on Wheels served 5,500 meals to York County residents last year. The group’s $3,206 proposal was nearly met with $3,000.
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