Common Council Jack Hopkins Social Services Funding Committee Announces Availability of Funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 1, 2016

For additional information:

Stacy Jane Rhoads or Dan Sherman, Office of the Common Council, 349-3409

Bloomington, IN - Common Council Jack Hopkins Social Services Funding Committee Announces Availability of Funding

The Bloomington Common Council's Jack Hopkins Social Services Funding Committee announces that it is accepting applications from social service agencies for use of $280,000 in social service funds. Applications are available at the Committee's webpage -[http://bloomington.in.gov/jack-hopkins]. Applications are due by Monday, March 28, 2016 at 4:00 pm.

Named in honor of former Councilmember Jack Hopkins who helped establish the program in 1993, the program is dedicated to funding projects that improve the lives of City residents who are low- to moderate-income, under 18 years of age, elderly, affected with a disability, or otherwise disadvantaged. Since the program's inception, the City has allocated over $3.41 million to local social services agencies serving our community's most vulnerable residents.

The Committee is composed of five members of the Bloomington Common Council and two members representing other City entities. Councilmembers serving are: Tim Mayer (Chair), Allison Chopra, Dorothy Granger, Isabel Piedmont-Smith, and Susan Sandberg. Sue Sgambelluri and John West also serve on this year's Committee.

This year the Committee is continuing the policy changes implemented within the last few years, including encouraging collaborative applications, requiring outcome indicators, and recommending funds be spent in 2016. However, this year, the Committee is making one additional change: it is accepting applications for operational funds that do not meet one of the exceptions to the Committee's long-standing, one-time funding rule (pilot, bridge, or collaborative). According to Chair Mayer, "Over the past several years, as federal and State funds have contracted, social service agencies have consistently relayed that one of their greatest needs is for operational support, support to fund things like salaries, rent, and utilities. For this reason, the Committee is permitting agencies to apply for operational support that doesn't fit into one of the Committee's excepted categories. This is a test year for this rule. At the end of this year's process, the Committee will assess whether to recommend this allowance in 2017." Agencies should be advised that despite this change, the Committee still prioritizes one-time funding.

Important Dates

Criteria

Applications must meet the following criteria:

• The program should address a previously-identified priority for social services funds (as indicated in the SCAN Report, City's Housing and Neighborhood Development department's 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan, or other community-wide survey of social service needs);

• The funds should provide a one-time investment that, through matching funds or other fiscal leveraging, makes a significant contribution to the program; and

• This investment in the program should lead to broad and long-lasting benefits to the community.

To learn more, visit the Committee's webpage:
[http://bloomington.in.gov/jack-hopkins] or call the Council Office at (812) 349-3409