Record amount granted

Dave Brooks

Huntington Beach received a record number of grants in 2004, totaling

more than $12 million.

The money came from a wide range of private and public sources,

allowing the city to invest in different programs without spending

money from the general fund.

Most of the money was obtained using grants and funding requests

written by city staff. The 2004 Summary of Outside Funding estimated

that 1,930 personnel hours were spent drafting proposals for the $12

million. The average amount of funds obtained for each hour of staff

time spent applying for funds was $6,215.

At least $144,366 came from the county government, while at least

$3.3 million came from state agencies with another $5.5 million

coming from federal agencies. A big chunk of the federal funding came

in the form of the annual Community Development Block Grant, provided

to municipalities by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Another big chunk of the grants was from nonprofits, endowments

and community groups like Kiwanis, which raised more than $10,000 to

fund the Easter Egg Hunt, disabled youth dances and a fishing derby.

Private companies also kicked in: Simple Green gave $14,250 to the

Adopt-A-Beach program, Nissan donated $420,000 worth of vehicles for

lifeguard patrol and Wells Fargo gave $5,000 each to the Oak View

Community Center and Project Self-Sufficiency.

The Huntington Beach Fire Department brought in more than $2.1

million, mostly from the Department of Justice and the Department of

Homeland Security. About $1.1 million will be spent to enhance the

city’s weapons of mass destruction response program, while another

$770,000 will be spent on a hazardous waste vehicle and a SWAT

tactical vehicle.

The Huntington Beach Police Department brought in about $881,000

for a variety of programs including $133,000 from the California

Office of Emergency Services to fund a domestic violence prevention

program.

“That’s a program that allows us to have a victim’s advocate and

pay part of the salary of a detective” to bolster domestic violence

programs, police Chief Ken Small said.

“These are things that we wouldn’t be able to do without the

grants,” he said. “It means we can spend money from the general fund

on something else.”

Another big winner this year was the library, which brought in

$470,000 to fund a number of initiatives including staffing, a

homework club at the Oak View Community Center and adult literacy

programs.

The Huntington Beach Art Center drew in more than $60,000 in

grants, including $25,000 from the James Irvine Foundation to fund

the upcoming “Out of Context” exhibition.

“We rely on grants specifically for projects, art exhibitions and

special events,” Art Center Director Kate Hoffman said. “Without our

family of supporters, we wouldn’t be able to stay in business.”