Department staff invites all prospective grantees to review the Frequently Asked Questions below. 

For a downloadable version, please click here. 

General Questions

When is the deadline for the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth (RFCY) grant application?

The deadline for all grant applications is Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. (PST). There are no exceptions to this deadline.

Why was the deadline extended for the RFCY Request for Proposals and grant application?

On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, the Richmond City Council approved and directed the Richmond Department of Children and Youth (RDCY) to re-open the RDCY Request for Proposals (RFP). Per the City Council’s direction, Department staff has extended the grant application deadline to June 1, 2021.

If our organization submitted a grant application prior to the initial deadline and we would like to make no changes to our application, are any additional actions required from us?

If your organization has previously submitted an application and you would not like to make any updates, no action is required from you.

Is an organization eligible to receive funding from both the RFCY grant program and Environmental and Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) grant program?

Yes, organizations may receive funding from both the RFCY grant program and ECIA grant program. For more information on the ECIA grant program, please visit www.ci.richmond.ca.us/ECIAgrants.

Application Submission

Can an agency submit more than one grant application?

An organization can submit more than one (1) but no more than three (3) proposals requesting funding, as long as the proposals are requesting funding for programming that is substantially different. Substantially different programming is defined as having a different priority area OR program design OR staffing OR program location OR target population receiving services. Please review page 14 of the RFP for more information. Applicants may submit substantially different proposals within the same priority area.

Can an organization submit the same application for different Priority Areas?

Applicants may not submit the same proposal for different priority areas.

Who is eligible to complete, sign, and submit a grant application from my organization?

It is a requirement that either an Officer on the Board of Directors of the organization or an individual authorized by an Officer(s) on the Board of Directors submit the grant application. Please review the Proposal Submission and Acknowledgement section of the RFP on Page 45 for more information.

If our proposed program matches the description of a Priority Area but does not match the Options for Supported Programming or Desired Results included in the RFP, does this make us ineligible to apply for funding?

This does not make you ineligible for funding. The list of Options for Supported Programming and Desired Results in the RFP does not constitute the only outcomes. Department staff recognizes that there are additional results and outcomes that are not listed. Organizations should clearly articulate how the program/project will impact their participants.

Location Eligibility

What are the location eligibility requirements to apply for funding?

Please note that there is a location eligibility requirement to apply for RFCY funding. As stated on page 10 of the RFP, entities eligible to receive funding include:

For purposes of this RFP, Department staff is defining “close proximity” as West Contra Costa County which includes the cities of San Pablo, El Cerrito, Hercules, and Pinole, and surrounding unincorporated areas (Kensington, Rodeo, Port Costa, El Sobrante, and North Richmond).

2. Organizations/agencies located in Richmond or unincorporated North Richmond that serve children, youth, and                 disconnected transitional-aged young adults in Richmond.

If my organization is located outside of the Richmond and West Contra Costa surrounding areas (e.g., Berkeley, Oakland, or San Jose) am I still eligible to apply for funding?

Your organization may be eligible to apply for funding if it is able to demonstrate location eligibility. For more information on how location eligibility may be demonstrated, please contact Department staff at youth@ci.richmond.ca.us. Please see page 10 of the RFP for more information on location eligibility.

Collaboration and Types of Applications

How is collaboration defined in the amended Request for Proposals?

For the purposes of this RFP, collaboration between the entities listed in Article 15, Section 5b of the Charter (entities) and a community-based organization (CBO) is defined as cooperation between the entity and the CBO that includes at least one of the following activities: (1) seeking input from the CBO on how services provided can best respond to community needs (e.g. needs of children, youth, and young adults) OR (2) working together to plan or coordinate services. Collaboration can include, but does not require the joint delivery of services or a formalized agreement. The nature of the collaboration can be described in the entity’s application for funding and does not require a joint application between the entity and the CBO.

Please see page 10 of the RFP for this information.

What organizations are listed in Article 15, Section 5b of the Charter? 

Entities included in Article 15, Section 5b include West Contra Costa Unified School District, Richmond libraries, Office of Neighborhood Safety, Richmond Promise College Scholarship Program, Richmond Housing Authority and Richmond YouthWORKS.

If an organization submits multiple applications as a Single Agency, should the organization limit the total grant request across the application areas to $150,000, or can the total request exceed this amount, recognizing the possible maximum total award amount may not exceed $150,000?

If submitting more than one application as a lead agency, the total grant request across applications may exceed the $150,000 amount, recognizing the possible maximum total award amount may not exceed $150,000. This also applies to applicants in the Small and Emerging category but with a possible maximum total award amount of $100,000. Please note that these are recommended amounts and the Review Committee may consider the amount of funding received by organizations across priority areas.

Can an organization submit a Single Agency or Small and Emerging application and be included in a Collaborative application?

Yes, an organization may submit a Single Agency application or Small and Emerging application and be included in a Collaborative application.

If an organization does not have 501(c)3 status, can they be included as part of a Collaborative application?

If an organization does not have 501(c)3 status, they are eligible to be a part of a Collaborative application and receive funding. Department staff will only be contracting with the lead agency which is required to have 501(c)3 status or a fiscal sponsor if 501(c)3 status is not met.

Which organization will the Department of Children and Youth contract with for a Collaborative application that includes several organizations?

The Department of Children and Youth will only enter into an agreement with the lead agency (or fiscal sponsor) of a Collaborative application. The lead agency (or fiscal sponsor) will be responsible for providing disbursements to other organizations listed in the Collaborative application.

If part of Collaborative application, what is the total that an organization can be granted if also applying as a Small and Emerging applicant or Single Agency applicant?

If you are applying as a Small and Emerging organization (possible maximum grant request is $100,000) and as part of a Collaborative (possible maximum grant request is $200,000), our goal is to only award your organization a TOTAL of $100,000 across all applications.

If you are applying as a Single Agency (possible maximum grant request is $150,000) and as part of a Collaborative (possible maximum grant request of $200,000), our goal is to only award your organization a TOTAL of $150,000 across all applications.

Please note that these are recommended amounts and the Review Committee may consider the amount of funding received by organizations across priority areas.

This articulates our desire to provide financial support to as many great organizations as possible. Department staff, reviewers and the Oversight Board will look at these situations as they come up to ensure funding is fair and equitable.

Please note that it is strongly recommended that organizations do not submit grant requests that equate to more than 40% of their overall organizational budget.

If four organizations are applying as part of a Collaborative application and none of the organizations are proposing to receive more than 50% of the proposed grant award, how is the lead agency determined?

If no organization is receiving more than 50% of the proposed grant award, the organization receiving the largest percentage of funding will be designated as the lead agency. If two or more agencies are set to equally share the highest percentage of funding, then the Collaborative may select the organization that serves as the lead agency as long as it does not conflict with any eligibility requirements or guidelines as described in the RFP.

How can my organization learn about other organizations interested in forming a Collaborative?

Organizations interested in forming a Collaborative are required to communicate directly with one another. In order to remain fair and impartial, Department of Children and Youth staff will not take on the role of establishing Collaboratives and coordinating meetings between organizations. For a list of some, but not all, local organizations that have previously received funding from the City of Richmond’s ECIA program, please visit here.

Fiscal Sponsorship

Does my fiscal sponsor have to be located in Richmond?

Your fiscal sponsor does not have to be located in Richmond. For additional information on fiscal sponsors, please review page 11 of the RFP.

If Organization A is serving as a fiscal sponsor on a grant application for Organization B, would this count towards the number of applications that Organization A may submit?

No, serving as a fiscal sponsor on an application will not count towards the number of applications that can be submitted.

Is there a maximum number of grant applications that an organization can serve as a fiscal sponsor for?

There is no maximum number of applications that can be submitted as a fiscal sponsor for an organization(s). However, the requirement that an organization can submit no more than 3 applications as a lead agency is still valid for the sub-applicant.

Grant Awards

If awarded funding, will my organization receive funding for one year (Fiscal Year 2021-2022) or three years (Fiscal Years 2021-2024)?

The initial contract is for a one-year period (July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022) with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods based on available grant funds, satisfactory evaluation, grant monitoring reports, and overall grant performance. This information can be found on page 17 of the RFP.

What is the appropriate period in which organizations can use grant funds to support their proposed program or project? Is this period flexible for organizations who offer summer programming?

Due to our initial grant period of July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, the portion of the program that occurs outside of the grant period would be ineligible for funding or reimbursement. Programming that takes place within the funding cycle would be eligible for funding.

Other RFP Inquiries

Does the 10-page limit on the Proposal Narrative form include the prompts?

The 10-page limit is for the Proposal Narrative form as a whole which includes Section 1, Section 2, and all prompts. The goal is that once completed, the Proposal Narrative will not extend past 10 pages.

In regard to Step 5: Proposal Submission & Acknowledgement on page 45 of the RFP, can you please confirm whether a business license needs to be submitted with the proposal?

Please note that an upload of your organization's business license and insurance is not required at the time of application submission. If awarded a grant, this information will be requested, and more information will be available at this time. Information on business licenses with the City of Richmond can be found here: http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/66/Business-Licenses.

We are 2 small agencies. If we apply as a Collaborative do we both have to show our financials or only the lead agency?

At the time of application submission, only the lead agency is required to submit financials. Please note that during the grant application review process, financials of additional partners within the Collaborative may be requested if necessary.

If an organization applying for funding also plans to serve as a fiscal sponsor and would like to charge the sponsoree for indirect costs, would this be allowed and count towards the possible maximum of $150,000 that may be received as a Single Agency?

If your organization is serving as a fiscal sponsor and will only be receiving a fiscal sponsor fee, this would not count against your organization’s possible maximum of $150,000 as a Single Agency. If your organization plans to serve as a fiscal sponsor and in addition to a fiscal sponsor fee, would also like to charge for indirect costs, this would require applying as a Collaborative and the amount received for indirect costs would count towards your organization’s possible maximum of $150,000 across all application areas. Please note that these are recommended amounts and the Review Committee may consider the amount of funding received by organizations across priority areas.

Please note that one possible option for organizations is to apply as part of a Collaborative and also serve as the fiscal sponsor for the lead agency in this Collaborative. In this scenario, this would not count towards the organization’s limit of three (3) applications because it would not be applying as the lead agency. If the organization is a part of a Collaborative and is receiving funds, these funds would count towards the overall amount that may be received across all application areas. As a reminder, a Collaborative applicant must consist of two or more agencies where at least two of the agencies are proposing to receive funds and the lead agency meets location eligibility.