BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Government Code § 84308 Applies: Yes ☐ No ☒
(If “YES” Complete Attachment A - Gov. Code § 84308)
SUBJECT: Title
Approve Fiscal Year 2025 Standard Grants for the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program.
End
RECOMMENDATION: Recommendation
A. Review and discuss staff’s recommendations for Fiscal Year 2025 Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program (Safe, Clean Water Program) standard grant awards;
B. Authorize the Chief Executive Officer or designee to approve and execute non-consultant agreements for 13 standard grant projects at a total amount not-to-exceed $1,837,616.55; and
C. Authorize staff to reallocate the remaining Fiscal Year 2025 standard grant funding of $32,383.45 towards Fiscal Year 2026 mini-grants.
Body
SUMMARY:
About the Safe, Clean Water Grants and Partnerships Program
The Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program (Safe, Clean Water) is a voter-approved special parcel tax that provides approximately $47 million annually for local projects that deliver safe, clean water, natural flood protection, and environmental stewardship to all the communities in Santa Clara County.
One of the Safe, Clean Water projects is Project F9: Grants and Partnerships for Safe, Clean Water, Flood Protection and Environmental Stewardship (Grants and Partnership Program). This project leverages community resources for the efficient use of funds to implement projects related to the Safe, Clean Water Program priorities. The project also promotes public involvement, awareness, and education of safe, clean drinking water, flood protection, and environmental stewardship through community-led projects that are located within, or serve, Santa Clara County.
In FY 2023, Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) initiated the Grants Program Redesign Project (Grants Redesign) to update and improve the Safe, Clean Water Grants and Partnership Program, align with the changes adopted through the passage of the Safe, Clean Water Program, and address the recommendations from the FY 2021 Grants Management Performance Audit Report.
The Grants Redesign addresses the audit recommendations that apply to standard grants, including scaling the application and reporting requirements to fit each grant's size, risk, and complexity and aligning with the expanded Safe, Clean Water Program.
On February 27, 2024, the Board authorized postponing the FY 2024 standard grants cycle until after the completion of the Grants Redesign and reallocated the FY 2024 funding of $1.4 million to the standard grant cycles over the next three years. This resulted in a total of $1.87 million allocated annually for standard grants in FY 2025 through FY 2027.
On May 27, 2024, the Board approved significant improvements to the Safe, Clean Water Grants and Partnership (Grants) Program, paving the way for their implementation in FY 2025.
The approach for implementing the Grants Redesign consists of two parts: streamlining grant administration and updating the standard grant criteria. The new updates that apply to standard grants include:
• Recategorizing grant types into the following categories:
o Education Grants
o Planning Grants
o Stewardship Grants
o Implementation Grants (available in FY 2026)
• Implementing alternating grant categories every other year.
• Fully fund standard grant requests.
• Reducing the match funding requirement to 15% for Stewardship and Implementation Grants.
• Eliminating a match funding requirement for Education and Planning Grants.
• Establishing a minimum and maximum grant request amount per project ($10,001 to $150,000 for Education, Planning, and Stewardship Grants).
• Streamlining the application and agreement development processes.
• Updating the eligibility requirements for applicants.
• Making the grantee insurance costs associated with the grant project eligible for reimbursement.
Fiscal Year 2025 Standard Grant Cycle
In the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 standard grants cycle, a total of $1,870,000 in grants is available to fund a diverse range of project types, project locations, and project sizes within the following three categories:
• Education Grants - for projects with activities that are strictly educational, including presentations, curriculum or material development, educational videos, and field trips or tours (including transportation). These projects do not involve direct or foreseeable physical changes to the environment, such as soil removal, construction activities, and plantings.
• Planning Grants - for projects that consist solely of activities related to planning, design, environmental resource investigations, academic research, or feasibility studies that do not have an implementation element. These projects either do not result in direct or foreseeable physical changes to the environment, such as soil removal, construction activities, and plantings, or only involve minor physical changes associated with investigative sampling, surveying, and testing activities.
• Stewardship Grants - for smaller-scale implementation or capital projects such as litter/pollution cleanups, native plant community gardens, water conservation projects, minor habitat restoration (under 5 acres), minor construction of structures/facilities, or alteration/improvement to existing facilities.
Applicants could request up to $150,000 per project in any category. As part of the Grants Redesign, Valley Water intends to award 100% of the applicant’s requested amount in FY 2025 to avoid partial funding for projects.
FY 2025 Standard Grant Guidelines
FY 2025 is the first standard grant cycle with the updated criteria from the Grants Redesign. As part of the Grants Redesign, the FY 2025 Standard Grant Guidelines (Grant Guidelines) were completely overhauled to meet the approved Grants Redesign changes. This included shifting the standard grant criteria away from limited, singular benefit categories to a “right-sized” approach based on project features and activities that would apply universally to all grant categories. The FY 2025 Standard Grant Guidelines (Attachment 1) incorporated these changes.
Application Timeline
On January 23, 2025, Valley Water announced the opening of the FY 2025 standard grant cycle with the release of the Grant Guidelines. The standard grant application period was open and accepted grant applications using Valley Water’s online Fluxx grants management system on January 23, 2025, and closed on March 28, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.
Public Outreach
An in-person open house event was hosted on February 12, 2025, for prospective applicants and previous grantees to learn more about the redesigned standard grants. Additionally, virtual standard grant informational workshops were held on February 18 and 27, 2025, for prospective applicants to learn more about the application process and ask questions directly to Valley Water staff. The standard grant webpage was updated with improved navigation and updated resources to assist with the application process. Applicants could also make appointments with staff to discuss the application and guidelines.
Outreach efforts included the following:
• FY 2025 Standard Grants Guidelines email announcement to existing key stakeholders in Santa Clara County and the grant program distribution list of more than 600 recipients on January 23, 2025, February 7, 2025, and March 13, 2025
• Valley Water newsletter article in January 2025 and February 2025
• Nextdoor posts to all Board districts in January 2025 and March 2025
• Fourteen (14) social media posts and boosted posts, including a promotional video
• CEO Bulletin articles during the weeks of January 24 - February 6, 2025
• Valley Water blog post on February 26, 2025
• Announcements to Valley Water Committees:
o Water Conservation Subcommittee on March 13, 2025
o Environmental Creek Cleanup Committee on March 14, 2025
o Environmental and Water Resources Committee on March 26, 2025
o Water Commission on March 27, 2025
• Email announcement sent to the following external partners:
o South County Stormwater Coordination Committee on March 4, 2025
o Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP) Management Committee on March 4, 2025
o Creek Connection Action Group on January 28, 2025
o Santa Clara County Community Rating System communities
• Press release on January 30, 2025, which resulted in the following media coverage:
o The Mercury News media coverage on February 2, 2025
o The Cupertino Courier media coverage on February 2, 2025
• Notifications sent to elected officials, city managers, and executive leaders in the county
• Notifications sent to countywide neighborhood associations, community leaders, civic organizations, environmental groups, and local non-profits
• Notifications sent to Valley Water staff via News You Can Use on January 28, 2025, and through the Employee Resource Groups (ERG) organizations
• Other direct outreach through various Valley Water programs, including Water Ambassadors, Youth Commission, Creek Stewardship, Recycled and Purified Water Outreach, Education Outreach, the Office of Government Relations, the Office of REDI, and Next Gen Career Pathways Program
• In partnership with the Office of REDI, reached out to tribal communities and Santa Clara County Climate Change Collaborative Equity in Community workgroup
• Provided grant information at the Valley Water Speakers Bureau presentation to Leadership Morgan Hill
• Announcement at the Landscape Summit on February 27, 2025, hosted by Valley Water
Applications Received
At the close of the standard grant cycle, Valley Water received 42 applications for the following grant opportunities:
• 21 applications for Education Grants
• Eight applications for Planning Grants
• 13 applications for Stewardship Grants
The project summaries for all applications are shown in Attachment 2.
Of the 42 applications that were submitted, three were deemed ineligible. Applications were deemed ineligible for funding if the project did not meet the category criteria for which the application was submitted and/or if the applicant organization did not qualify as an eligible organization type per the FY 2025 Standard Grant Guidelines. After the initial application compliance check, applicants were given an opportunity to provide follow-up documentation or minor response clarification if needed. The ineligible applications were not scored by the evaluation panels.
Of the 39 eligible applications, 32 were from local nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, six were from other government agencies, and three were from schools, community colleges, and colleges/universities (public, not-for-profit). A total of 17 (44%) have never received prior grants of any type from Valley Water.
Application Review and Evaluation
The FY 2025 Standard Grant Guidelines provided applicants with a list of minimum qualifications and criteria for each section and grant category type. Applicants were encouraged to provide adequate rationale and documentation to support their application.
The 39 eligible applications were reviewed by the evaluation panels. The panels were made up of Valley Water staff who are subject matter experts on relevant topics such as pollution prevention, volunteer creek cleanups, environmental stewardship, education, habitat restoration, permits, regulations, and environmental planning. The subject matter experts spanned several units and divisions throughout the agency.
The panelists scored the applications based on the evaluation criteria identified in the FY 2025 Standard Grant Guidelines. Panelists considered the quality of the project and responses within each application section.
To provide continuity in the evaluation, the panelists rated each section on a scale from zero to five, in accordance with the FY 2025 Standard Grant Guidelines. All section scores per project were multiplied based on a weighted scoring system and added together to produce a total project score out of a maximum of 100 points. Panelists’ scores were averaged to calculate a final score for each application. See the FY 2025 Standard Grant Guidelines (Attachment 1) for more details.
FY 2025 Standard Grant Funding Recommendations
Staff funding recommendations are based on the standard grant framework that the Board approved under the Grants Redesign on May 27, 2024. This includes the availability of $1.87 million for standard grants in FY 2025.
The following projects are recommended for 100% funding based on the final project scores from the panelists for a total not-to-exceed amount of $1,837,616.55:
• Sacred Heart Community Services, SHCS La Mesa Verde Environmental Education Initiative ($145,000)
• Latinos United for a New America, Watering Our Roots ($139,576.62)
• San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, Student Stewards Restoring Alviso's Wetlands for the Future ($137,909.16)
• Escuela Xochitl Tonatiuh Inc., Sunrise Middle School Water Conservation and Pollution Remediation Project ($150,000)
• Marshmallow Minds, Flight-Flow-Future ($69,114)
• Canopy, From Canopy to Creek ($149,994.67)
• California State University, East Bay Foundation, Inc., Development of tracer experimental plan to evaluate groundwater ($150,000)
• Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, Youth Powered Clean Water Outreach ($149,512.50)
• Our City Inc., Community Eco Adventure Day ($150,000)
• Veggielution, East San Jose Dig Crew Environmental Stewardship Development ($150,000)
• Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, Coyote Creek Watershed Wonders Program ($150,000)
• Community Agency for Resources Advocacy & Services, Water Wise Community Engagement and Education ($150,000)
• City of San Jose, Native Garden Installation at San Jose Parks ($146,509.60)
Of the 13 recommended applications, 10 are from local nonprofit organizations, one is from a city, and one is from a public university foundation. Ten of the recommended applicants would be first-time recipients of a Valley Water standard grant.
Applications Not Recommended for Funding
The FY 2025 standard grant cycle received nearly double the applications than the prior record of 22 in FY 2023. The volume of applications made in FY 2025 made it the most competitive standard grant cycle to date. While most applications did meet the minimum qualifications and eligibility, the evaluation panel scores indicate the strength and quality of the application and its alignment with Valley Water’s mission and the FY 2025 Standard Grant Guidelines.
In general, applications received lower scores for the following reasons, including, but not limited to:
• incomplete or vague responses;
• application inconsistencies and inaccuracies;
• lacking a strong tie and connection to Safe, Clean Water Program priorities;
• limited public benefit or public access to projects;
• inability to demonstrate project readiness or the expertise and resources to successfully complete the proposed project; and
• heavy reliance on elements and activities that could be funded through other public programs, such as Valley Water’s landscape rebate program.
Staff will endeavor to incorporate tips related to these areas into future applications and resources, such as workshops, help text, and guidance documents, to help applicants improve their submissions in future grant cycles.
Applicants who do not receive funding in FY 2025 will have the opportunity to meet with grants staff to debrief on their application feedback for their consideration. Applicants with scalable projects are also strongly encouraged to apply for a year-round mini-grant.
Post-Award Next Steps
Upon the Board’s funding award decision, staff will notify all applicants and meet with the awarded applicants to review the next steps and develop a grant agreement. Grantees may begin their project activities and grant invoicing after the grant agreement is executed.
The agreement terms will be three years for Education and Planning grants and five years for Stewardship grants from the agreement's effective date.
The grant agreements will contain the standard provisions related to communications, including:
• inclusion of Safe, Clean Water Program logo on all project materials presented to the public;
• all materials that include Safe, Clean Water Program logo are subject to review and approval by Valley Water;
• mention of “Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program” as appropriate when funding sources for the project are printed or presented;
• early notification to and invitations provided to Valley Water for any project related events; and
• invitation with speaking roles for members of the Board at project groundbreaking and opening ceremonies.
Additionally, grantees will be asked to report project data and measurable outcomes of all activities, including community engagement, education, and outreach, so staff can assess the impact of the grant funding.
The grant agreements will contain standard provisions requiring grantees to prepare a project fact sheet and make a presentation at an event or meeting hosted by Valley Water when the project is completed, only upon request.
Other provisions will include clear success measures, adherence to the project schedule, and guidelines. Finally, the CEO will only execute grant agreements for the projects awarded by the Board, that comply with CEQA requirements before conducting activities that require CEQA compliance.
FY 2025 Standard Grant Cycle Assessment
Given that FY 2025 was the first standard grant cycle using the updated and Board-approved framework, staff plans to assess the 2025 standard grant cycle application and results, as well as feedback from applicants, panel members, grants program staff, and Valley Water’s Grants Redesign consultants, Arabella Advisors, to identify areas for improvement within the application and Standard Grant Guidelines. Any improvements that are identified and deemed appropriate will be incorporated into the FY 2026 standard grant cycle.
Reallocating Remaining FY 2025 Funds to FY 2026 Mini-Grants Program
If the FY 2025 standard grant funding recommendations are approved by the Board, the total not-to-exceed award amount would result in a remainder of $32,383.45. This remaining amount is not sufficient to fund any additional standard grant projects at 100% of their requested amount. Past grantees and applicants indicated that partial funding was a significant challenge in past standard grant cycles, especially when projects were not scalable. Therefore, a commitment to funding 100% of an applicant’s requested amount was adopted by the Board as part of the Grants Redesign effort. Accordingly, staff recommend allocating the remaining funds to the FY 2026 mini-grant program. Staff have received a significant increase in demand for mini-grants since increasing the award amount from $5,000 to $10,000 under the redesigned FY 2025 mini-grant program. Reallocating this remaining funding would allow the funds to be accessible year-round and help kick-start more eligible projects in the next fiscal year.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY IMPACT:
There are no likely Environmental Justice impacts associated with the FY 2025 standard grant funding recommendations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Financial impact associated with this item is limited to the applications approved for funding per Board action. The FY 2025 budget includes up to $1,870,000 for standard grants agreements under project 26061021.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA (per CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(a)) because it does not commit Valley Water to a definite course of action, and therefore has no potential to result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect environmental impact. Specifically, it is a government fiscal activity which is not a project because it does not involve commitment to any specific project that may result in a potentially significant environmental impact, per CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(4).
The Board action is approval of staff recommendations to fund projects following project-specific CEQA compliance, if required, and is not a commitment to fund those projects. It does not foreclose Valley Water’s exercise of discretion with respect to a project, including but not limited to considering other feasible alternatives or mitigation measures to avoid or minimize a project’s impacts, requiring a grantee to make such modifications deemed necessary to reduce a project’s impacts, or determining not to proceed with one or more components of a project.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: FY 2025 Standard Grant Guidelines
Attachment 2: FY 2025 Standard Grant Application Summaries
Attachment 3: FY 2025 Staff Funding Recommendations
Attachment 4: PowerPoint
*Handout 9.1-A: Grant Edit
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER: Manager
Rachael Gibson, 408-630-2884