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Info sessions and Q&A

Info sessions

PCL held two virtual pre-application information sessions via Zoom on Sept. 19 and 24. Attending an information session is not mandatory. If you were unable to attend an info session, we highly encourage potential applicants to view a recording of the presentation below for an overview of the application requirements and WebGrants registration process.

Q&A

PCL welcomes all potential applicants to submit questions to info@portlandchildrenslevy.org. PCL will respond individually via email to answer questions within 3 business days.

Submitted questions are also posted anonymously in the Q&A below. PCL staff will post questions verbatim as received via email. If the question itself names the organization or program, PCL staff will not remove that reference before posting the question. 

Applicants may submit questions until 5 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2024. Individuals will receive final responses, and PCL will post all final questions and responses to the digest by close of business on Nov. 1, 2024.

Click the arrow next to each question to see the full question and/or response.

Week of Sept. 10 Q&A

For all program areas except early childhood, the maximum 3-year grant is $2.5 million.  In early childhood, the maximum 3-year grant is $4.5 million. Please review the Funding Requirements section in the program area application for which you intend to apply for other relevant information on grant size and resources available.  Program area applications are available in the Grant Applications page on the PCL website.

An agency acting as a fiscal sponsor for a program may apply for PCL funding. The agency acting as a fiscal sponsor must meet the requirements for applicants including, but not limited to, being a 501 (c)(3), local education agency, community college or university with annual revenues of at least $750,000 in their last closed fiscal year. If the application is successful, the fiscal sponsor enters into the grant agreement with PCL and is responsible submitting quarterly invoices and expense reports and all required grant reports. Fiscal sponsors must be willing and able to meet these requirements.

Dougy Center is interested in applying for a grant with the Portland Children’s Levy. We have reviewed the applications for the six program areas and have found that our proposal falls within the funding priorities for two of the six program areas (Foster Care and Child Abuse Prevention & Intervention Program Services).

Specifically:

  • Program Services Eligible for PCL Funding – Foster Care (#6, p.4) Provide services that support and improve youth mental health, especially for youth who identify as LGBTQ2SIA+
  • Program Services Eligible for PCL Funding – Child Abuse Prevention & Intervention Program Services (#3, p.4) Support parents/caregivers and youth experiencing grief and stress to learn coping skills

Dougy Center’s L.Y.G.H.T. program is an evidence-based peer grief support intervention for youth in foster care that is listed in the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare and is currently delivered to youth in foster care throughout South Carolina. We will be bringing this program to Oregon and are interested in partnering with the Portland Children’s Levy to provide critical grief support to youth in foster care. As the L.Y.G.H.T. program both improves youth mental health and supports youth experiencing grief and stress to learn coping skills, could you provide guidance on which program area we should apply to?

PCL response:

Since the program you describe specifically plans to serve foster youth, PCL recommends that you apply in the foster care program area assuming that the population to be served otherwise meets the definition of the eligible service population in the foster care application excerpted below:

“Proposed programs must directly serve children and youth in foster care or former foster youth, ages birth – 24. Children and youth in foster care are those who are placed, by Oregon Department of Human Services or a Tribal organization, in a relative or non-relative foster home, group home, emergency shelter, residential facility, or pre-adoptive home.

All children and families to be served with PCL funding must live or go to school within City of Portland boundaries. See a map with zip codes and a map with detailed street and school locations for reference.”

I have been reviewing the RFP for this upcoming grant cycle and I am wondering if we apply with a partner organization for a mentoring grant and both organizations combine have an income of $750,000 if that would meet the criteria. We run and after school skate program for youth and we often partner with another organization to do so. We are hoping to use this grant for that, but our organizations do not fit the $750,000 a year budget. However, combine we do. Just curious if we are able to still apply?

PCL response:

No.  Groups of organizations can apply together for funding; however, the group would need to choose a lead agency or fiscal agent to be the “applicant.” The lead agency/fiscal agent/applicant needs to independently meet the requirements for an eligible applicant, which include having revenues of $750,000 in the last closed fiscal year.  The lead agency/fiscal agent/applicant enters into the grant agreement with the City, and subcontracts with partner agencies.  The lead agency/fiscal agent/applicant is responsible for submitting invoices and expense reports, and other grant reports. 

PCL’s small grants funding round will open later in 2025 and we encourage your organization to consider applying in that funding round. 

Week of Sept. 16 Q&A

Please see responses to Questions 2 and 4 in the Q&A for the week of September 10.

Receiving funding from Preschool for All does not disqualify United Way/ELM from applying for a PCL early childhood grant. PCL is not accepting applications for programs proposing to offer preschool services due to the passage of Preschool for All. United Way would need to meet the requirements for eligible organizations, and whatever program was proposed for funding in the application would need to meet eligibility requirements. Please see PCL’s website for more information on eligibility and requirements for applicant organizations and proposed programs.

Please see responses to Questions 2 and 4 in the Q&A for the week of September 10. Applicant organizations are not required to be located in Portland. 

Yes. The map published by the City of Portland and referenced in the application slows that Alder Elementary school is located within City of Portland boundaries.  Programs serving children who go to school within City of Portland boundaries are eligible to apply for funding.

The applicant organization must have had at least $750,000 in revenue in its last closed fiscal year at the time you apply for a PCL grant. It’s not clear from your description of the PCEF grant when the organization received or will receive revenue from the grant, or what the organization’s fiscal year is. For example, if your organization’s fiscal year is July 1 through June 30, the organization would need to show revenues of $750,000 from all sources between July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 to be eligible to apply for a PCL grant in this funding round. 

There is no limit on the number of applications that can be submitted. The amount of total funding requested in all applications from a single applicant organization cannot exceed 30% of the applicant organization’s revenues in the last closed fiscal year. 

Thanks for your inquiry. There are no exceptions to the annual revenue requirement. PCL suggests you consider applying for funding in the Small Grants round that is planned for late 2025. Another option is to work with a fiscal sponsor that meets the requirements for eligible applicants. The fiscal sponsor must apply for the grant and can subcontract with the sponsored organization to provide the services. Please see responses to Questions 2 and 4 in the Q&A for the week of September 10 for additional information on fiscal sponsors.