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City of Festivals

City of Festivals Guidelines

City of Festivals

City of Festivals Guidelines

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How to apply for a City of Festivals grant

I. Background and Purpose.

The City of Festivals Citywide Special Event Support Program (“Program”) is a grant program, made possible by a federal allocation of funds to the City of Sacramento through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”).

The primary purpose of this Program is to respond to the Covid-19 public health emergency and its negative impacts by building strong, healthy communities through investments in neighborhoods in the form of grants for special events held throughout the City of Sacramento. In addition, support for these events is intended to activate public spaces; enrich the lives of residents; encourage partnerships between organizations, members of the community and businesses; foster a vibrant and diverse community; and stimulate economic activity.

The Program will be consistent with the program guidelines of the existing City of Festivals Special Event Support Program with added guidelines that provide assistance city-wide to aid recovery from the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to meeting the requirements for funding under ARPA, the specials event must be consistent with family-oriented themes entertainment, and activities; support arts and culture entertainment and activities; promote a healthier living environment; and enhance quality of life in the City of Sacramento.

The Program is intended both for new events and for events that are seeking to grow and enhance their offerings to increase attendance, community-wide impact, and appeal.

II. Eligible Use of Grant Award:

Grant funds may only be used to pay costs incurred in connection with the special event, including costs charged by the City including police services, bagged parking spaces, and permits; and other event costs such as private security, portable restrooms, and event fencing. See Attachment 1 for a complete list of eligible costs. The City will not reimburse the grantee for costs incurred before the City and the applicant both sign the grant agreement.

III. Special Event Support Grant Award Criteria

A. Community Impact - examples include:

Promotes economic activity
Revitalizes public space
Provides access to healthy food
Promotes social equity, inclusivity, and neighborhood engagement
Features family-oriented activities
Promotes the rich history, heritage, amenities of Sacramento
Supports the cultural and creative economy
Encourages physical activity

B. Community Involvement

Use of community volunteers
Business involvement and sponsorship
Non-profit and community-based organization involvement

C. Quality of Event Plan

Marketing Plan
Logistics Plan
Financial Plan, which will include event budget and use of grant funds Past event success (Note: It is not a requirement that applicant has past event experience)

IV. Program Parameters

A. The special event must be held between June 15, 2024 – October 31, 2024.

B. Applications will be accepted April 1, 2024, through April 30, 2024.

C. Grant awards will be made in the following priority order:

Public events with free admission will receive priority over ticketed events.
Events that focus their investment on an underserved neighborhood.
Events that promote and seek participation from a wide and diverse audience.
Events that promote economic activity.
Family-oriented event.
Events that incorporate the cultural and creative environment of Sacramento.
New Event.

D. Additional information may be requested at any time during the screening process. Failure to provide requested information at any time during the application and screening process will result in rejection of the application for the funding cycle in which it was originally submitted.

E. Funding support for a special event may be revoked at any time if it is determined that the special event, as implemented, does not fit within the criteria of these guidelines, or the applicant made a material misrepresentation in the application.

F. The maximum grant award under the Program is $7,500 per event. The City will not award more than one grant per event. Although an applicant may submit applications for more than one event, the City will not award more than one grant per applicant.

V. Application Process

All applicants must submit the appropriate documents during the designated online application period that coincides with the desired event dates to be considered for this Program. Applicants will be notified as to the status of their grant application after a panel review is completed. The City will notify applicants whether they have been awarded a grant within 30 days after the application deadline. Any changes to the event location or date after the panel review is completed may disqualify the awardee from receiving the grant.

All applicants who are selected to receive a grant are required to sign the City’s standard ARPA Reinvestment Fund grant agreement. The City will not sign the grant agreement until the applicant:

Provides a current business operations tax certificate issued under chapter 3.08 of the Sacramento city code
Registers as supplier with the City
Provides evidence that it has obtained event insurance for the event with a minimum of $1 million in commercial general liability coverage naming the City as an additional insured

VI. Post Event Review and Analysis

A. The applicant, if approved to receive funding from the Cityof Sacramento, must provide a detailed post event report within 30 days after the event for analysis by the City of Sacramento. Analysis elements include economic and/or social impact on the community, incident logs, financial summary with specifics on actual revenue and expenditures and the number of spectators attending the event.

B. A review by City staff will be performed to determine if and how the event met the event criteria established by the City of Sacramento.

Eligible Costs

Equipment

Generators
Audio equipment
Tables
Chairs
Tents
Lighting
Fencing
Stages
Children’s entertainment equipment (for example, bounce houses and play equipment)

City/County/Park Fees

County health permit fee
Park rental permit fee
Event permit fee
Entertainment permit fee
ABC permit Fee
Fire Marshal permit fee
Venue rental fee

Parking

Bagged meter fee
Street closure fee

Security

Police Officers
Private Security

Trash and Waste Disposal

Recycling bins
Dumpsters Trash cans

Safety Gear/Event Gear

Safety vests
Safety equipment
Event shirts

Marketing

Banners Printing
Direct advertising

Entertainment

DJ services
Children’s services (for example, face painting and balloon twisters)
Musicians

Ineligible Costs

An expense for any item not listed above is ineligible for reimbursement, including:

Insurance
Food and beverage
Promotional giveaways or gift cards

Hmong Guidelines

Spanish Guidelines

Vietnamese Guidelines

ON THIS PAGE

City of Festivals Guidelines

PDF Guidelines for Download

I. Background and Purpose.

II. Eligible Use of Grant Award:

III. Special Event Support Grant Award Criteria

IV. Program Parameters

V. Application Process

VI. Post Event Review and Analysis

Eligible Costs

Ineligible Costs

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