City gives life to organizations with grants

By Steve Enders

"I'm a dot-org" is a joke that's shared in many nonprofit agency circles in and around Silicon Valley. The joke is a reference to websites that end with ".org," designating them as a not-for-profit group.

Unfortunately, the joke is more of a defense mechanism that explains how their groups are always strapped for cash and that the people who run them work extremely hard, often for very small amounts of money.

But the city of Saratoga has done its part for the dot-orgs, and did so again April 7 when it approved the annual round of funding through the Community Development Block Grant program, more commonly known as CDBG. The money comes from federal funds, as allocated by the Housing and Community Development Act.

The money is given to various communities throughout the United States from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Santa Clara County and the local municipalities are given the authority to see that the money goes to good causes.

This year, the city has given $151,543 to three groups, two private nonprofits as well as the County Rehab Program. An additional $15,000 will cover staff administrative costs. The money is a small portion of the some $2.5 million the county will see from the program.

Paula Reeve, a city administrative analyst who heads the CDBG funding, said the city has attempted to streamline the funding process, and has focused on funding Saratoga-specific projects that provide the greatest benefit to the community.

This year's recipients include:

* Project Match, a county-wide organization that dedicates housing to senior citizens, matches individuals as roommates and provides below-market-rate rent to them. In Saratoga, one house is shared by five people near the Argonaut Shopping Center. This year, Project Match will receive $14,700 to subsidize the rent payments of those living in the house.

* The Community Center Senior Wing rehabilitation will receive $104,469 to complete the second phase of a renovation project that started last year, when it was given a $100,000 grant from CDBG funds. The first phase of the project gave the community center a patio area for use from the city's senior day care program.

"I'm all for finishing what we've started," Reeve said about the new grant to the center. "It's a worthy cause for the seniors living in Saratoga."

The additional money will go to furthering the building's renovation, including updating electrical systems, heating and air conditioning units and other remodeling work.

* The Saratoga Area Senior Coordinating Council will receive $32,374 for operating costs of the Saratoga Adult Care Center, which is inside the Community Center Senior Wing. In its grant proposal, SASCC says that the money will provide more than 5,000 hours of care to 40 seniors, in addition to respite care for 50 families whose loved ones are cared for at the Senior Center.

SASCC has been working as a nonprofit since 1979, and opened the Adult Care Center in 1988.

SASCC Executive Director Mary Richards told the City Council that the senior day program is running at capacity, and has a waiting list for the first time.

"Without funds from these various sources," she said, "we would no longer be able to provide services to our frail elders."

Finally, another $15,000 is going to the County's Housing Rehabilitation Specialist, as required from each city using its services. The money will go toward site inspections, estimates and supervision of the projects maintained by CDBG funds.

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