Engage, Empower, Elevate Grant

The Engage, Empower, Elevate Grant

The Engage, Empower, Elevate Grant was created by the City of Flagstaff Sustainability Section as a pilot program response to a twofold challenge in Flagstaff: the record high number of unsheltered community members and keeping Flagstaff litter free is an ongoing challenge. This grant will fund projects that provide employment opportunities to persons experiencing homelessness, or are at risk of homelessness, to abate litter in our community.

The Engage, Empower, Elevate Grant is funded through the City of Flagstaff Sustainability Office and the Community Stewards Program. The City is seeking a registered community non-profit to provide social services to persons at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness to help address litter in the city. A grant of up to $30,000 is available from the city and serve as a subrecipient of an additional $30,000 from the Arizona Department of Housing grant funds for a total of $60,000 in year one. Individuals, groups of individuals, community groups, educational groups, and not-for-profit organizations (501 C-3) whose projects are within Flagstaff city limits are eligible to apply. The grant is awarded through a competitive process. Funds are one-time funds and not guaranteed to be allocated annually.  

Submit an Application

Applications for this year will close on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at 3:00 pm (MST). 

Interested in applying next year? Please email us with a statement of interest. While you may apply through the Survey Monkey Application Form without submitting a statement of interest, those who send in a statement of interest will receive updates and answers to questions received from all parties via email.  In addition, both the question and the answer will be posted here.

We strongly recommend that you complete application questions in an offline platform such as Microsoft Word to avoid loss of information due to potential internet connection issues. PDF Guidelines and Application (PDF) and Word Guidelines and Application (DOCX) versions are available with detailed instructions and requirements. Please copy and paste your responses into SurveyMonkey.

Application Review and Disbursement Process

The grant review group will evaluate each proposal based on the Evaluation Criteria listed on Page 5 of the grant Guidelines. All grant applications will be reviewed in March and final decisions will take place by May 13th. 

Successful applicants must submit a W-9 tax form (click here to download the form) to nantonopoulos@flagstaffaz.gov and meet with City Staff to review the grant agreement. A sample agreement can be found here. Once submitted, applicants will receive grant funds in the form of a check between four and eight weeks later. Funding cannot be retroactive. 

Grant Recipient Requirements and Reporting

Please see this sample agreement that the grant recipient must enter into. 

If selected for a grant, applicants are required to:

    1. Disclose any conflicts of interest.
    2. Meet with City staff within the first month of the project start date to review the project timeline and goals.
    3. Have work completed within twelve (12) months of the grant being awarded, otherwise a formal justified extension must be requested.
    4. Provide monthly reports of litter collection data including the number of participants paid, number of bags of trash and recycling collected, and number of hours worked. 
    5. Work cooperatively with the Community Stewards Program, reporting needs, successes, and challenges as they occur.
    6. Provide a final report 30 days following the completed project, including photo or video documentation (a final report template will be provided).
    7. Provide documentation of expenses; scanned copies of all expense receipts must be submitted (in PDF format).
    8. Provide a project completion presentation to Flagstaff City Council after submitting the final report. Presentations must highlight project accomplishments, new partnerships, project sustainability, and challenges/difficulties faced. Photos are encouraged.
    9. Possess and maintain general liability insurance (minimum of $1 million general liability and $2 million aggregate) and workers’ compensation to cover participants employed by this project. Documentation will be required before funding is dispersed. 
    10. Provide program participants with at least the minimum wage as outlined in the City of Flagstaff’s Minimum Wage Ordinance (Chapter 15-01). 
    11. Take full responsibility for the project and project participants. The grant recipient is an independent entity in the performance of its activities and functions. The grant recipient and City are not and shall not be considered as joint ventures, partners, or agents of each other and neither shall have the power to bind or obligate the other. 
    12. Enter into a formal agreement with the City of Flagstaff before receiving grant funds that will outline grant recipient’s responsibilities. A sample agreement will be posted here soon and emailed to those who send in a statement of interest.

Contact

Please email us or call 928-213-2152 with any inquiries. Both the question and the answer will be posted here and emailed to those who have sent in a statement of interest.