City of Lawrence
Outside Agency Funding
APPLICATION
General Information: Each year, the City Commission considers requests for the allocation of dollars to a number of agencies that provide services benefiting the Lawrence community. The decision on funding a request will be made during the City’s annual budgeting process. The decision will be based upon the availability of funds, the need demonstrated through the agency’s application, the stated objectives of the applicant’s program, past performance by the agency in adhering to funding guidelines (as appropriate), and the ability to measure progress toward the program objectives.
Instructions: Applications for 2008 funding must be complete and submitted electronically to the City Manager’s Office at cliebst@ci.lawrence.ks.us by the deadline of 5:00 pm on Friday, April 20, 2007.
Questions? Contact Casey Liebst, Budget Manager at cliebst@ci.lawrence.ks.us or at 785-832-3409.
Section I. Applicant Information
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Legal Name of Agency: |
Elizabeth B. Ballard Community Center, Inc. dba Ballard Community Services. |
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Name of Program for Which Funding is Requested: |
Emergency Service Council |
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Primary Contact Person: |
Paul R. Hunt |
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Address: |
708 Elm or P.O. Box 7, Lawrence, KS 66047 |
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Telephone: |
785.842.0729 |
Fax: |
785.331.3714 |
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Email: |
paulbcc@ballardcenter.org |
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Section 2. Request Information
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A. |
Amount of funds requested from the City for this program for calendar year 2008: |
$ 20,000.00 |
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B. |
Will these funds be used for capital outlay (equipment or facilities) in 2008? If so, please describe: No. |
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Will these funds be used to leverage other funds in 2008? If so, how: No. |
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D. |
Did you receive City funding for this program in 2007? If so, list the amount and source for funding (i.e. General Fund, Alcohol Fund, etc.): Yes. The Ballard Center received General City funds to benefit Lawrence Residents through the Emergency Service Council program for the last three years. |
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E. |
If you are requesting an increase in funding over 2007, please explain exactly how the additional funds will be used: Each month, Emergency Service Council provides funding to families and individuals in need of rent or utility assistance. However, for every application that is approved, there are often as many requests beyond that which we cannot fund due to lack of available resources. The $12000.00 increase will help ESC assist more people who are in need. |
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Section 3. Agency and Program Budget information
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A. |
How many paid full time employees work for your agency? |
21 |
Volunteers? |
20 |
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B. |
What percent of your total 2007 budget goes to employee salaries and benefits? |
69% |
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C. |
What percent of your total 2007 budget is used for operating expenses? |
0% |
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D. |
What is the total estimated cost to provide the program in 2008? |
107,000.00 |
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E. |
What percent of 2008 program costs are being requested from the City? |
18% |
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F. |
List other anticipated sources of funding and funding amount for this program in 2008: |
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Anticipated Funding Source |
Dollar Amount |
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United Way |
$35,000.00 |
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CDBG |
$20,000.00 |
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Private Funding |
$ 6,000.00 |
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County Funding |
$20,000.00 |
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FEMA |
$26,000.00 |
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TOTAL 2008 PROGRAM BUDGET |
$107,000.00 |
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Section 4. Statement of Problem/Need to Be Addressed By Program
A. Provide a brief statement of the problem or need your agency proposes to address with the requested funding and/or the impact of not funding this program. The statement should include characteristics of the client population that will be served by this program. If possible, include statistical data to document this need.
Every month, many residents of Lawrence are threatened with eviction or utility disconnection due to non-payment. According to the Local Utility companies, the number of people with service interruptions far outweighs the number that can be reached by the Emergency Service Council. For example, Lawrence Utility Billing noted over 400 actual residential service disruptions in February 2007. For the month of March, Westar issued service disruptions on nearly 200 accounts. In October of 2006, Aquila shut off over 100 accounts due to inability to pay. Where there is no central source for number of 3 Day eviction notices, Emergency Service Council funded 175 individuals to avoid eviction. The Emergency Service Council is performing follow up interviews with many Emergency Service Council recipients to ascertain the immediate and long term benefits of assistance for the recipients. Without utility and rent assistance, these families face the hardship of homelessness, lack of sanitation, weather extremes, loss of food, fear and uncertainty. The Emergency Service Council seeks funding to prevent this hardship and the collateral costs to the community through increased medical needs, stress on homeless services and child protective services.
The population served by Emergency Service Council is Douglas County low income families and individuals. These recipients are screened for residency and financial eligibility when they apply. Recipients are eligible for no more than 200.00 per family per year and no more than three uses of the program total. This funding is used to prevent homelessness or utility disconnection.
B. How was the need for this program determined?
The need for this program is supported by the sheer number of requests for assistance funding beyond the amount available. It is also supported by the expense to the community if evictions or service disruptions are not avoided. With $304,150.00 from the 2007 outside/other agency funding budget made toward agencies that tackle homelessness, (WTCS, First Step House, Salvation Army and Homeless Task Force) it seems intuitive to put forth adequate funding toward an agency that directly prevents conditions that can lead to homelessness. Preventing homelessness eases strain on transitional housing overload and child in need of care cases. Homes without utilities tend to degrade at a more rapid rate leading to an increase in blighted neighborhoods.
C. Why should this problem/need be addressed by the City?
This need must be addressed by the city because of the aforementioned costs but also the benefits the city gains. In 2006, Emergency Service Council spent nearly 60,000 in assistance checks for Douglas County residents. From this expenditure, 75% was paid to Lawrence Landlords or City of Lawrence utility payments. Much of the funding stays in City Limits. That which is paid to Statewide and Regional utility companies and neighboring communities benefits the City of Lawrence by not stressing the already strained services that are located in the City of Lawrence.
Section 4. Description of Program Services
A. Provide a brief description of the service you will provide and explain how it will respond to the need you identified in Section 3. The description should include how many clients will be served, and should describe as specifically as possible the interaction that will take place between the provider and the user of the service.
The service provided by the Emergency Service Council is to help Douglas County residents avoid utility service disruption or eviction from a dwelling. In 2006, ESC funding assisted 720 individuals across Douglas County. With an increase of funding, this number will increase as well.
Funding is budgeted to last for a 12 month cycle. When funding is made available on a monthly budget, participating agencies (Ballard Community Center, Penn House, ECKAN, Salvation Army, Women’s Transitional Services and Douglas County Senior Services) meet with perspective clients. Clients with dependent children, elderly, homeless and persons with disabilities are given priority if there is a shortage. Also, the level of urgency is taken into consideration so persons with shut off notices and eviction notices are given priority. All of this information is confirmed and documented by the worker and an agreement to pay is then negotiated with the landlord or utility provider. A check is then issued within 14 days of final approval by Emergency Service Council.
B. Describe any efforts your agency has made to explore the community to determine if there are any other agencies providing similar types of services. What efforts have you made to coordination services?
As part of the application process, Emergency Service Council tracks what other services applicants are using. If their needs cannot be met by ESC, we attempt to help advocate through other agencies and other funding streams. In certain cases, it can take more than one assistance fund to solve the problem. ESC funding sites also are asked to help counsel applicants on preventative measures including but not limited to recommending budgeting classes, credit counseling, finding more affordable housing, offering weatherproofing kits and more effective spending practices. The Emergency Service Council program partners work to remain up to date on the existence of other funding streams and stays in regular contact with other sources to best serve the community.
Section 5. Program Objectives
Please provide three specific program objectives for 2008. Objectives should demonstrate the purpose of the program and measure the amount of service delivered or the effectiveness of the services delivered. A time frame and numerical goal should also be included. Examples include, “75% of clients receiving job training will retain their job one year after being hired,” “increased fundraising efforts will result in a 15% increase in donations in 2008,” “credit counseling services will be provided to 600 clients in 2008,” “new digital arts program will serve 275 students in 2008” etc. Applicants will be expected to report their progress toward meeting these objectives in their six month and annual reports to the City.
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Program Objectives |
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1. |
50% of applicants are able to stay in residence or avoid utility interruption for 30 days.
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2. |
50% of applicants are able to stay in residence or avoid utility interruption beyond 30 day cut off.
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3. |
40% of applicants will remain at residence or maintain utilities for 90 days after assistance.
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Please return completed application electronically to cliebst@ci.lawrence.ks.us by
5:00 pm on Friday, April 20, 2007.
Office Use Only