Welcome to the recap of the Allocation Committee meeting on June 24, 2024. You can watch a YouTube recording of the video by clicking the image below.

Annual performance data 2022-23

Image from Allocation Committee meeting June 24, 2024. In the bottom right, Craig Popp, audit manager from Merina + Co., presents the results of their annual compliance examination. Along the top is an image of the temporary Council Chambers and the Allocation Committee members.
Bottom right: Craig Popp, audit manager from Merina + Co., presents the results of their annual compliance examination.

Craig Popp, audit manager from Merina + Co., presented the fiscal year 2023 audit report. The firm determined that the Portland Children’s Levy complied with the 5% administrative cap, and there were no findings or recommendations.

Funding priorities for 2024-25 funding round

Image from Allocation Committee meeting June 24, 2024. In the bottom, Community Council member Jacob Valentine speaks about workforce readiness programs, while seated next to PCL Director Lisa Pellegrino. Along the top is an image of the temporary Council Chambers and the Allocation Committee members.
Bottom left: Community Council member Jacob Valentine speaks about workforce readiness programs, while seated next to PCL Director Lisa Pellegrino. Community Council member Karina Bjork (not pictured) also represented the council at the Allocation Committee meeting.

Allocation Committee members approved funding priorities for the next competitive large grant round this fall. Many of the priorities remain the same from the current round of grants, including an emphasis on staff who are culturally responsive and representative of the clients served. Some highlights of the funding priorities include:

  • The Levy will no longer fund preschool classrooms within the early childhood program area due to the 2020 passage of Multnomah County’s Preschool for All, which will provide for an increasing number of slots.
  • The mentoring program area will expand to cover more college and career readiness support for 14- to 24-year-olds, including apprenticeships and other post-secondary programs.
  • Increased focus on mental health, social-emotional health, system navigation, and reducing isolation for parents, caregivers and families across multiple program areas.

Review the adopted funding priorities document and the meeting slide deck for more details. Community engagement results and Community Council feedback shaped the funding priorities.

Allocation of projected resources for 2024-25 funding round

Allocation Committee members approved a total $70.45 million to be offered across the Levy’s six program areas in the next round of large grants for the three fiscal years 2026-28. The estimate is based on the most recent City of Portland revenue forecast, and the total could change based on an updated forecast in January 2025.

The allocations are based on community engagement results and are offered in ranges, allowing the Allocation Committee to be flexible when they make their final grant awards next year. Compared to the current large grants, key changes include:

  • Increased allocations for mentoring, hunger relief, foster care, and child abuse prevention and intervention program areas. The increases are to allow for expanded program offerings, such as more mental health supports, and post-secondary supports for young people up to 24 years of age.
  • Reduced or similar allocation for the after school program area, since many programs have struggled to engage youth post-pandemic, and some currently funded programs have been chronically under-enrolled.
  • Reduced allocation for the early childhood program area due to the passage of Preschool for All by Multnomah County.

View the slide deck to see tables with the recommended allocations by program area.

Separate from the money available for competitive large grants, the Allocation Committee also preliminarily approved dedicating $6.6 million for two noncompetitive special initiatives for fiscal years 2026-28:

  • $6 million to continue the popular Community Childcare Initiative, which provides affordable, high-quality childcare for working families earning low incomes.
  • $600,000 to provide training for grantee partner organizations

Grant application, scoring criteria and review process

Staff continue to refine the grant application in an effort to simplify it. There will be about 30% fewer questions than in the 2019 application, and complex tables and Excel worksheets will no longer be required. The application will have five parts that cover eligibility, program information, service activities, the budget requested and a narrative portion.

Staff are developing parts of the application in Web Grants, an online grant application software utilized by the City of Portland. Feedback has been submitted from service providers, including non-grantee providers, participants in the last funding round and the Community Council.

Funding round timeline

The large grant application is scheduled to be published around Sept. 10, 2024, with a tentative deadline of Nov. 4, 2024. During this 8-week period, PCL staff plan to host information sessions, regularly update an FAQ webpage and be available to answer questions.

Community reviewers are expected to have 8 weeks to review the applications from approximately November 2024 to January 2025. Staff will then spend about a month developing recommendations that will be shared with applicants.

The Community Council is scheduled to provide input on funding recommendations in late winter 2025, after which the Allocation Committee will make final decisions in the spring. City Council will then formally approve the grants.

2024 Community Report

Staff shared highlights from the 2024 Community Report, an annual publication that provides information about how Levy funds were used, demographics of program participants and stories from the programs funded by the Levy.

Thank you, Traci Rossi!

From left: Allocation Committee members Dan Floyd, Felicia Tripp Folsom, Traci Rossi and Chair Dan Ryan stand next to each other in front of a white, textured, patterned background.
From left: Allocation Committee members Dan Floyd, Felicia Tripp Folsom, Traci Rossi and Chair Dan Ryan thank Traci for her service on the committee.

The June 24 meeting marked the last one for Traci Rossi, who is stepping down after serving four years on the Allocation Committee as the city-appointed community member. Committee members and PCL staff thanked Traci for her dedication to children and families and for her commitment to public service.

Miss Monday’s meeting?

Watch it on YouTube or on CityNet Xfinity Channel 30 and 330 (HD) June 30 at 11 a.m. and July 4 at 7 p.m. You can also view the independent audit report, slide deck about the upcoming funding round, funding priorities document and the slide deck about the 2024 Community Report.  

Join us for the next Allocation Committee meeting

Our next meeting will be 10 a.m. to noon on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. Agendas will be sent to this email list, shared on our social media channels and posted on portlandchildrenslevy.org

We welcome your comment on agenda items or the work of the Portland Children’s Levy. If you would like to join the next meeting to participate, please join our email list and stay tuned for the meeting invite.