Social Service Grants Committee Meeting March 19, 2026

The City of Topeka Social Service Grants Committee convened on March 19, 2026, to review and discuss the upcoming 2027 social service grant process. Brett Martin from United Way of Kaw Valley, the city's contracted vendor managing the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, presented details on the Request for Proposal (RFP) timeline, grant priorities, and funding parameters. The committee reviewed the minimum and maximum grant request amounts, which range from $10,000 to $27,000, with exceptions for two programs capped at $35,000 and $50,000 respectively. The committee emphasized the importance of outcome-based funding and clarified the scoring and allocation process, noting that total available funds approximate $491,000. The timeline includes application release in April, workshops, submission deadlines in May, review meetings in June, appeals in July, and final recommendations by August 1 for council approval. Members discussed the impact of tight budgets and federal funding contingencies on grant awards. The committee also stressed the importance of applicant support to ensure complete and qualified submissions. No votes on funding allocations were taken during this meeting; the focus was on process review and preparation for the upcoming grant cycle.