A Gift of Time — a nonprofit that provides respite care for caregivers of those with mild to moderate Alzheimer's — has been a part of Georgetown since 2016. In the past, the organization applied for and received funds through the City of Georgetown’s Strategic Partnership Program.
The money from grants helps them provide time multiple days a week where caregivers can drop off their loved ones at no cost and run errands, go to appointments or take care of other necessities.
A line item in the city budget, the Strategic Partnerships Program has offered about $400,000 in grants -- out of the city's over $800 million budget -- to nonprofits each year since 2011.
However, at the end of November, A Gift of Time learned that Georgetown was pausing the release of funds for this year’s grant program in favor of potentially redirecting the money toward city services or new priorities. Other nonprofits who applied also learned of the change.
“We never look at any grant as a sure thing,” A Gift of Time board member Kristen Dark said. “But that being said, when you invite someone to apply, who has received from you in the past and who qualifies for it, it’s weird to have it pulled back.”
Although the city has the right to do what it wants with the money, she said offering and then resending the money is “just not a very good practice, in my opinion.”
During the November 26 meeting, City Manager Jessica Clarke presented an updated list of funding priorities that, at a later date, will be used to re-evaluate applicants for this year’s grants. City council will discuss eliminating the program for next fiscal year once the current cycle wraps up.
Mixed opinions
The Locker Foundation provides basic need items and school supplies to children in area schools. Director of Operations Ashley Fraser said in the 17 years the nonprofit has been operating, they haven’t had to turn a student away due to lack of funds or resources.
“We want to keep that [track record],” she said.
The nonprofit was set to be awarded $10,000 this grant cycle before it was paused. If they don’t receive the grant, the staff will have to pivot to find new funding, she said. “It is really hard whenever all of a sudden a funding source disappears, because it can hurt an entire program,” she said. “You have to start seeking extra funding, which finding grants is very hard.”
A main proponent of getting rid of the program, Council Member Kevin Pitts said the “explosive growth” of the city wasn’t what the city planned for back when the program began. He said the city has to respond to it.
“It's looking at the budget, looking at the numbers, the money in front to figure out where can you free up money,” he said. “It’s my personal belief that it's not the job of the government to fund nonprofits. It’s [the job of] individuals, it's people who are passionate about certain things.”
He said the original concept was to take $5 from every resident to put toward the Strategic Partnerships Program to fund nonprofits that were supporting what the city saw as “essential services” that were not being provided by the city itself.
By eliminating the program, he said residents could get their $5 back and donate as an individual to a nonprofit of their choosing, instead of having the city decide for them.
As a newer organization however, Ms. Dark said A Gift of Time still relies heavily on grant funding.
“We aren’t able to sustain ourselves through regular donors and other ways of generating income,” she said. “If grants are the training wheels on a bicycle, we still have our training wheels, and we’re still needing grant money to get us going. Hopefully someday, we’ll get to the point where we are less and less reliant on those grant funds.”
A Georgetown nonprofit that’s operated since the 1990s, Ride of Center for Kids has received grants from the city in past years. ROCK CEO and founder Nancy Krenek said she wasn’t surprised council members are considering getting rid of the program.
“I knew that with all the rising prices with the economy, they’ve been juggling a lot of things to try to make sure they could give the raises they need for things like police and fire,” she said.
Ms. Krenek echoed Mr. Pitts’ stance, and said cities are not mandated to give out grants. As the city has grown, she said the grant program has gotten more complicated as the amount of nonprofits applying also grows.
Instead of a grant program, Mr. Pitts said he would be in favor of official city partnerships with specific nonprofit that provide these essential services to “leverage our money better.”
“Instead of us having to create those [services] and do it ourselves, if we can partner with somebody, it leverages [the cost],” he said. “That's what I think we need to do more of [instead of a grant cycle].”
He pointed to the city’s partnerships with the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center and Habitat for Humanity as examples of what future collaborations could look like.
However, Ms. Dark worried that some services that target specific populations — like those provided by A Gift of Time — could be left behind without access to grants. It is unlikely that the city step in would provide its own free respite services to residents if the nonprofit were not able to operate, she said
“To me, when you look at an organization like A Gift of Time, you look at what it's doing for the community, how it's supporting community, I think it's important to look at what happens to the community if we don't step up and support something this special,” Ms. Dark said.
Despite the potential changes in funding from the city, all three nonprofit members spoke about how grateful they are for the large Georgetown philanthropic community.
“The community is so amazing,” Ms. Fraser said. “I just hope that they continue to support the nonprofits because our community needs it. They just do. Residents need all the different things that we provide.”