The City Commission voted 6-0 Tuesday for 26 nonprofit grants, from senior care and the 988 crisis line to student mentoring and the Hillsboro Lighthouse gala.
Twenty-six nonprofits will share city grants to run programs for Pompano Beach residents. The City Commission approved the awards 6-0 on Tuesday. They range from $5,000 to $25,000.
Updated Oct. 15: The commission adopted the resolution 6-0 on Oct. 13, according to the city’s legislative record for item 26-521. Vice Mayor Alison Fournier moved it and Commissioner Rhonda Sigerson-Eaton seconded. The record does not say whether the $10,000 gap described below was raised.
The grants come from the city’s Community Partnership Program, which the city budgets at $300,000 a year. The Oct. 13 agenda listed the item’s fiscal impact as $295,000.
Who gets the most
Three groups get $25,000 each, according to the list of awards attached to the item:
- Areawide Council on Aging of Broward County, to meet the 10% local match for federal Older Americans Act and state elder care programs for Pompano Beach seniors
- First Call for Help of Broward, for the 211 Broward helpline and the 988 crisis line
- Junior Achievement of South Florida, for JA BizTown, where students run a simulated town’s businesses and bank accounts
Programs in Pompano Beach schools and neighborhoods
Several awards pay for work inside the city’s own schools and neighborhoods:
| Group | Award | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|
| HANDY | $15,000 | Tutoring, mentoring and career exposure at Pompano Beach Middle |
| Serving with Grace | $7,000 | Uniforms, backpacks and supplies at C. Robert Markham Elementary, which the group says serves more than 500 students |
| Broward Performing Arts Foundation | $15,000 | School-day performances for at least 3,000 Pompano Beach students from October to May |
| Early Learning Coalition of Broward | $20,000 | Child care subsidies; the coalition says 1,907 Pompano Beach children were in its School Readiness program in 2024-25 |
| Broward Moms | $7,500 | Diapers, incontinence supplies and period products for low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities |
| Brown’s Community Development Center | $5,000 | The 11th annual Collier City Family Fun Day at McNair Park |
| YMCA of South Florida | $13,000 | Health education aimed at 2,000 seniors and other residents a year |
Events and smaller grants
Thirteen groups get between $5,000 and $7,500. They include:
- the Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society’s annual gala, held on the first full moon in March at the lighthouse, just across the Hillsboro Inlet in Hillsboro Beach
- the Southeast Police Motorcycle Rodeo on April 17, 2027, whose proceeds go to Concerns of Police Survivors and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County
- Unity in the Community’s Family Fun Day and the Namaste Indian art and food festival
- SCORE’s small business webinars and mentoring for people starting or growing a business
- Covenant House Florida’s job training for young people facing housing instability
How the money is awarded
The program started in 2018. Strategic Philanthropy Inc. runs it under contract, a memo from Budget Director Joshua Watters says. Applications were open April 6 to May 1 this year.
The firm scores applications on a 100-point scale and recommends awards. The budget office reviews them, and the city manager decides what goes to the commission. The firm cannot approve awards itself.
The city’s guidance aims to split the money about 63% to workforce and education programs and 37% to community programs such as behavioral health, senior services and events. Groups getting more than $5,000 are paid quarterly against receipts and progress reports.
The 26 awards in the attached list add up to $285,000. The list and the agenda both give the total as $295,000. The agenda papers do not explain the $10,000 difference.
What it means for you
- The vote: the commission approved the grants 6-0 at its Oct. 13 meeting at City Hall, 100 W. Atlantic Blvd. Groups getting more than $5,000 are paid quarterly against receipts and progress reports.
- If you run a nonprofit: the city opens applications each spring. This year the city manager announced the round at the March 24 commission meeting.
- If you need help now: dial 211 for the Broward helpline or 988 for the crisis line, both of which this program helps fund.
More on local services is in our guides to who to call at City Hall and things to do.
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