Cuts to Community Service Grant program would be significant, say Grand Forks nonprofits

Yahoo

19 hours ago

Jul. 27—GRAND FORKS — Leaders of local nonprofits say proposed cuts to Grand Forks' community service grant program would be significant to their operations.
"As far as Northlands Rescue Mission is concerned and our operational expenses, that would be a pretty significant blow," said Director Everett Jones Sr. "It's not like we have a surplus of funds that we're just hoarding. When we apply for a grant, it's because we need it."
In the city's proposed budget for 2026, programs like the CSG program, Arts ReGrant, and the Special Event funding that comes from sales tax collections are set to have zero allocations for the year. The programs' infrastructure, like the procedures and policies, would still exist, but it wouldn't be able to have any grants disbursed because there are no funds.
The current CSG program has been around since 2019. The competitive grant process allows nonprofits to apply for operational grants that are reviewed by the Community Advisory Committee and the Grand Forks City Council. The program is typically administered hand in hand with the Community Development Block Grant, which includes federal funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The CDBG program provides funding for competitive grants for brick-and-mortar projects. The grant application is currently open and there is $400,000 available for grants, $10,000 less than last year.
United Way of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks Executive Director Heather Novak Fuglem said the lack of funding — if it comes to be — would make her organization's work more difficult, especially in helping people get the documents they need to obtain housing.
"It'll affect us mostly for our homeless families who were trying to get housed into long-term housing," Novak Fuglem said. "If we don't have the capability through CSG for our families-first program to provide rental arrears or purchase Social Security cards or birth certificates, that's going to add bigger barriers on to our families and onto United Way."
Jones said if these cuts do come to fruition, the city and the area's nonprofits need to come together to find something to bridge the continuum of care.
"We have to be mindful that we are not the whole — we are part of it. So I want to make sure that we are garnering goodwill with the city," Jones said. "Myself and hopefully other organizations will be available for a collaborative effort to figure out what a potential solution could be.
"Thankfully, we do have philanthropists within the community and the community has really been stepping up to bridge that gap in spaces we've needed over the last few months. Hopefully they'll be willing to, again, take on some more of the responsibility of funding some of the programs we know will be impactful."
In 2025, Grand Forks' 12-month rolling average of sales tax collections has been between $33.8 million and $35.5 million. The city currently allocates around $2.5 million annually toward its Economic Development Fund, from which programs like the CSG program are funded.
The proposed budget reflects increased costs placed on public safety and infrastructure, which are also partially funded by sales taxes. As the state has imposed a new 3% property tax levy cap, becoming less reliant on property taxes has been a goal.
"That general 1% (sales tax) that the mayor is recommending shifting a bit on that allocation is because of the need for street capital projects and also the need for a long-term sustainable look with property tax caps and the additional public safety component need in the general fund," City Director of Finance Maureen Storstad.
Grand Forks' sales tax is allocated three ways: 1% is a general sales tax that goes into the general fund, infrastructure fund and economic development fund; 0.5% goes toward street and water infrastructure; 0.75% goes toward event center capital improvements; and a 0.25% charged on restaurant and lodging purchases goes toward the Alerus Center's operations.
The City Council is currently scheduled to vote on the preliminary budget on Aug. 4.
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