Nonprofit organizations are the backbone of many cities and Sedona is no exception.
More than 20 nonprofits are much happier this week thanks to funds being distributed through the city of Sedona’s Small Grants Program.
The funding was approved by Sedona City Council on Tuesday, July 13.
A report states that long-time committee chairwoman and program facilitator Stephanie Giesbrecht, together with the work group, vetted each grant application for completeness and program compliance.
The committee interviewed representatives from each of the 26 applicant organizations on June 9 and formulated its funding recommendations on June 10. Following the extensive reviews by staff, legal and the committee, all but one of the eligible 26 applications were recommended for full funding.
During the recent budget work sessions, council recommended a budget of $166,500 for the small grants program, with an additional carryover of $121,300 in unspent funds from the Fiscal Year 2020-21 cycle, for a total budget of $287,800.
This carryover is a one-time only budget increase to counterbalance the anomalous grant cycle for this 2020 when the council withheld money the grant committee had recommended the city spend.
The city received 28 grant applications totaling $299,341. One was deemed ineligible and another withdrew its request. The following are the organizations that were awarded funds and the amount they received:
■ Benefactors of Red Rock State Park: $10,000
■ Chamber Music Sedona: $16,000
■ Conscious Education: $6,000
■ Emerson Theater Collaborative: $20,000
■ Friends of Yavapai County ARES Races: $15,287
■ Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance: $8,327
■ Parangello Players: $3,800
■ Piano on the Rocks International Festival: $13,500
■ Red Earth Theatre: $5,000
■ Red Rocks Music Festival: $7,500
■ Rotary Club of Sedona Village: $9,900
■ Sedona Area Homeless Alliance: $8,000
■ Sedona Art Center: $25,000
■ Sedona Arts Festival: $10,000
■ Sedona Community Food Bank: $8,000
■ Sedona Historical Society: $7,650
■ Sedona International City of Peace: $6,000
■ Sedona International Film Festival: $20,000
■ Sedona School Mountain Biking Club: $10,000
■ Sedona Visual Artists’ Coalition: $15,000
■ Society of St. Vincent De Paul, Sedona: $6,000
■ Steps to Recovery Homes: $9,792
■ Verde Valley Imagination Library : $3,500
■ Verde Valley Sinfonietta: $16,000
■ Verde Valley Wheel Fun: $5,000
■ Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters: $5,000
“The grant cycles for FY2021 and FY2022 were both anomalies because of the pandemic,” the report states. “Award notification letters to grant recipients will clearly articulate that full funding for this cycle is primarily a result of a one-time budget carryover and is not typical of most grant cycles where most applicants receive partial funding.”
