A new approach to allocating human-services funding from the Arlington County government was not without its hiccups, but county leaders say they are pleased with the direction in which it is moving.
County Board members on April 24 approved grants totaling just under $2.4 million to 22 non-profit social-service agencies. The initiative used a new scoring system and was conducted in collaboration with United Way of the National Capital Area, which served as a consultant.
“Net, this is a step forward,” said County Board member Matt de Ferranti, who said the new process of reviewing grant applications – using panels of government staff and the public – assured fairness.
“The integrity of the process had been maintained,” he said.
A total of 38 proposals were submitted for funding, with 22 of them winning support – 10 at 100 percent of the amount requested, the remainder at 75 percent. Amounts ranged from about $26,000 to $225,000.
The new allocation methodology irked some organizations that had been left out, and de Ferranti acknowledged the new process would not please everyone.
“There are a few organizations that won’t be getting all that they wanted. There are a couple of organizations that did not apply that we have funded in the past,” he said.
Moving forward, County Board member Susan Cunningham said she hoped there would be ways to lessen the application burden on organizations and reduce government-staff time required in processing the applications.
Cunningham also voiced a desire to see funding made for multi-year projects rather than just one year at a time. But like de Ferranti, she on balance was pleased with the first steps.
“We have a long history in Arlington of relying on non-profit partners, truly partnering with them to deliver our core services,” she said.
