The Winnetka Neighborhood Council periodically receives requests from organizations in Winnetka for support in exchange for outreach opportunities. These requests are called Neighborhood Purposes Grants and to be considered, organizations should complete the NPG application and submit it to be agendized for consideration at an upcoming board meeting. Please submit your completed paperwork to our treasurer one week prior to the regularly scheduled meeting on the second Tuesday of the month, so that it might be agendized.
Following are some NPG rules:
Community Benefit: a benefit to the community as a whole within the NC’s boundaries. All funds should have an expressed and specific community benefit.
Non-religiously affiliated 501c3s: as a government entity, Neighborhood Councils are subject to separation of church and state and cannot fund items that promote a particular faith or impede freedom of religion. Neighborhood Council’s may use religious organizations as vendors for use of services such as the room/facility as long as the venue is open to the public and does not promote a particular faith or impede freedom of religion. If you have further questions beyond this, please contact the City Attorney.
501(c)3 non-profits and Public Schools only: only IRS determined 501(c)3 or LAUSD public schools can apply for NC grants.
Amount: Grants can be awarded for up to $5,000.00 without a contract. If two or more grants for the same program exceed this amount within the same fiscal year, they will be returned. Any grants for $20,000.00 or more will require a contract and approval of the Board of Commissioners before being approved by the Department.
Conflict of interest laws: NPGs are subject to local, state and federal conflict of interest laws. If there is a conflict of interest where an individual on the board has a direct or indirect interest in the approval or denial of a grant, they cannot bring an item before the board, vote or discuss the item in anyway. If this has taken place, the NPG is considered tainted and cannot be resubmitted. We encourage any board members with a possible conflict to recuse themselves and leave the room for the entirety of the discussion and vote. If that individual does not know whether or not they have a conflict, they should contact the City Attorney’s Office.
Voting after the fact: NC’s cannot vote to fund events or reimburse the requester for any expenses that have already been incurred. The exception is if an item has been previously voted on before the expense was made and merely being re-voted on or amended.
Allocating Funds intended for other fiscal years: NPGs should be used to fund projects that take place in the fiscal year that the monies are being allocated for. Example: the project begins in December and runs through May. The exception to this would be if the funds were necessary to make meaningful progress on a program that crossed fiscal years. For instance, if you are funding an item that spans partially from this fiscal year into the next, but the funds are necessary before the end of the fiscal year to begin meaningfully on the project, this is allowable as long as that information is provided on the NPG Form showing a ‘start date’ or ‘funds required’ date within the current fiscal year.
All NPG Funding Requests are required to include either a 501(c)3 determination letter or a letter on LAUSD letterhead from the Principal of the public school depending on the type of grant.