Lacey City Council awards community development block grants to 7 nonprofits
Lacey City Council on Thursday allocated a little more than $1 million to seven nonprofit organizations.
It wasn’t city money, but funding from the federal Housing and Urban Development known as Community Development Block Grants, or CDBG. Nonprofits had requested $1.23 million from funding pool, but the city could spend only $1.06 million.
Following a recommendation from City Manager Scott Spence, the council agreed to fund the smaller nonprofits at the full amounts, but trimmed the offering for large requests by 16 percent.
After the council was done, the funding allocations looked like this:
▪ Lacey Veterans Services Hub: A $500,000 request to expand the hub was cut to $421,852.
▪ Thurston County Food Bank: A $350,000 request for the Lacey Food Bank was cut to $295,296.
▪ Homes First: A $250,000 request for affordable rental homes was cut to $210,926.
▪ South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity: A $55,000 request for critical home repairs was fully funded.
▪ Boys and Girls Clubs of Thurston County: A $45,573 request for a homeless youth assistance program was fully funded.
▪ Child Care Action Council of Thurston County: A $20,000 request for early learning program for low-income families was fully funded.
▪ Garden Raised Bounty (GRuB): A $15,000 request for a veterans and low-income families victory garden was fully funded.
Although some council members proposed slightly different funding amounts, they ultimately agreed with Spence’s recommendation after Councilwoman Carolyn Cox spoke.
“It’s really easy to get bogged down in this,” she said, adding they could shave a little here or there.
Cox urged support for Spence’s approach. “It saves the little guy and it’s an even, across-the-board hit for the larger applicants,” she said. “It’s the logical way to move forward on this.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
