PREPARED BY: GREG DWYER DATE OF MEETING: 06/15/2026
SUBJECT:
TITLE
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTIONS APPROVING FY2026-27 FINAL GRANT AWARDS FOR THE ANNUAL SAN PABLO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANT PROGRAM AND ACCEPTING THE APPROPRIATION OF $45,000 IN EXTERNAL FUNDING FROM THREE SOURCES AND FY 2025-26 GFDR FUND 110 FUND BALANCE TO THE FY 2026-27 CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY EVENTS BUDGET TO FULLY FUND THE FY 2026-27 PROGRAM FOR A TOTAL PROGRAM APPROPRIATION OF $120,000 IN ONE-TIME GRANT DISBURSEMENTS
CEQA: This proposed action is not a project as defined by CEQA.
Label
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Adopt Resolutions
Body
WORKPLAN Compliance statement
The San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Program 501(c)(3) - falls under the category of Build A Healthy Community - Improve Connection to Healthy Eating and Active Living With All Applicable City Programs and Services, an adopted policy item under the FY 2025-27 Council Priority Workplan, effective April 7, 2025.
BACKGROUND
The City Council historically appropriated discretionary funding as part of the General Fund Operating Budget, under the City Council Departmental Account (100-1110-44050) to establish an Annual San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Program to provide financial assistance to non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations. The City received an additional $45,000 in funding from three external sources to support the grant program as follows: The Lytton Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians - $25,000; Republic Services, Inc., dba Richmond Sanitary Services - $15,000; and a donation from the San Pablo Senior Advisory Board - $5,000. With this combined funding from all sources and $75,000 from the FY 2025-26 GFDR Fund 110 Fund Balance, there is a total program funding of $120,000 for the Annual San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Program for FY 2026-27.
San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Review Committee
The City received 25 eligible applications by the April 3, 2026 deadline. On May 11, 2026, the San Pablo Community Foundation (SPCF) Grant Review Committee reviewed the eligible applications totaling $233,143 in grant funding requests.
SPCF Grant Review Committee - Grant Award Recommendations
Following its review, the SPCF Grant Review Committee recommended that the City Council award 17 applicants for FY 2026-27 SPCF grant funding awards totaling $120,000, the full amount of available program funding, as outlined in detail below.
Conflict of Interest Issues for City Council or City Staff
Under State conflict of interest laws, including Government Code section 1090 prohibiting conflicts with contracts including grant agreements, generally public officials are not able to participate in governmental decisions related to a nonprofit for which the official is an officer or from which the official receives gifts, income, stipend, or travel expenses and must publicly announce the nature of the conflict.
A non-salaried or non-compensated member only of a nonprofit may participate in the governmental decision related to the nonprofit but must announce the fact of membership in the nonprofit. With all governmental decisions, it is the responsibility of the public official to be unbiased and come to the decision with an open mind, willing to hear all facts and positions.
With recusals or disqualifications for conflicts of interest, the Councilmembers are not counted towards the quorum. There may be occasions when a City Councilmember or City staff member is a member of a potential grant recipient organization but is not an officer, serving on the board of directors, or otherwise receiving gifts, income, stipend, or travel expenses. In those instances, if the Councilmembers and staff members indicate that they can be impartial in determining the grant awards, they do not have to recuse themselves from the vote or process.
As has been the prior practice, it is anticipated that City Councilmembers or San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Committee Members who sit on the Boards for any non-profit that has applied for these grants recuse (or disqualify) themselves from any discussions, recommendations, or votes for those non-profits to avoid any conflicts of interest or even the appearance of a conflict. For this reason, the Council action will be segmented into 2 Parts, Part 1 and Part 2, to allow these recusals to occur. This is a process specifically allowed under the regulations for the Political Reform Act (2 California Code of Regulations Section 18706), which the City has also used for Section 1090 contract conflicts. As such, the nonprofit with the conflicted official is addressed first without that official’s participation, and once that action is taken (e.g., a decision on whether to fund that nonprofit), then the conflicted official may rejoin the Council to decide on funding the other nonprofits.
This year, Part 1 includes a recommended grant award to nonprofit Weigh of Life. Current San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Committee Member, Genoveva Garcia Calloway, serves on the Weigh of Life Board of Directors and recused herself from participating in the San Pablo Community Foundation Committee’s recommendation to award Weigh of Life a grant. Additionally, Mayor Pabon-Alvarado has a conflict of interest due to a current contract/client relationship with Weigh of Life and will recuse herself from participating in the City Council’s decision about whether to approve the grant to Weigh of Life.
Recommended Grant Awards
Below are the grant award recommendations for FY 2026-27 from the SPCF Grant Committee submitted for City Council’s consideration:
Ø Part 1 - (BY SEPARATE RESOLUTION DUE TO CONFLICT OF INTEREST)
Organization: (General Fund Category) Amount:
1. Weigh of Life $ 7,000
Ø PART 2 (BY RESOLUTION)
Organization: (General Fund Category) Amount:
1. California Symphony $ 9,000
2. East Bay Center for the Performing Arts $ 9,000
3. Growing Together - Bay Area, Inc. $ 9,000
4. Headwaters Science Institute $ 7,000
5. House of Loving Hands, Inc. $ 5,000
6. King's Accountability Group, Inc. $ 7,000
7. Kiwanis Club of San Pablo (fiscal agent The Latina Center) $ 5,000
8. Meals on Wheels Diablo Region $ 5,000
9. Morada de Mujeres del Milenio $ 5,000
10. Richmond High Internationals’ Academy (fiscal agent EdFund) $ 9,000
11. San Pablo Baseball Association (fiscal agent New Life Movement) $ 7,000
12. San Pablo Cowboys Youth Association (fiscal agent New Life Movement) $ 7,000
13. Touch of New Life $ 7,000
14. West County Salesian Youth Club $ 7,000
Organization: (AB 939/Environmental Category) Amount:
15. Rollingwood Neighborhood Alliance $ 7,500
16. The Watershed Project $ 7,500
________________________________________________________________________
Total: $120,000
Separate Resolutions for Part 1 and Part 2 grant awards are included for City Council review and consideration (See Attachments), as follows:
• Part 1 will be considered and voted on by the City Council. Mayor Pabon-Alvarado will recuse herself due to a Conflict of Interest.
• Part 2 will be considered and voted on by the entire City Council as there are no conflicts of interest.
FISCAL IMPACT
For this action, a total of $75,000 will be appropriated from the FY 2025-26 GFDR Fund 110 Fund Balance to the FY 2025-26 City Council Departmental Budget (100-1110-44050) for all grant award allocations. Additional external funding of $45,000 from three (3) external sources: (1) Casino San Pablo/Lytton Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians ($25,000); (2) Republic Services ($15,000); and (3) San Pablo Senior Advisory Board ($5,000) provides for an annual total combined grant funding allocation of $120,000 for FY 2025-26 grant award disbursements awarded by the City Council. All proposed grant awards, once approved by City Council, will be allocated into the FY 2025-26 General Fund Budget (100-0000-33403), and then appropriated to the City Council Department Budget - Special Events line-item expenditure (100-1110-44050). The City will process all checks for the SPCF grant award recipients following City Council approval before June 30, 2026, with checks being mailed by the first week of July 2026.
ATTACHMENTS:
Att A. Part 1 Resolution for FY 2026-27 SPCF Grant Awards
Att B. Part 2 Resolution for FY 2026-27 SPCF Grant Awards