The City of Thornton will give over $307,000 to 32 nonprofit and other organizations this year to fund services to help residents meet food, housing and medical needs.
Earlier this month the city council gave its approval to a slate of funding recommendations from a committee of residents who weigh the needs of nonprofits and who apply for the Thornton Assistance Funds. The committee reviews the applications of funding based on “their demonstrated benefit to the Thornton community, with priority place on programs that provide the great impact to Thornton residents,” according to a city staff report.
Non-profits were graded, put on tier levels and subject to heavy scrutiny by the committee, say city officials. Still, picking the ones most worthy of funding was not an easy task, said Mayor Jan Kulmann. “This is a really tough job for anyone,” Kulmann said earlier this month.
In all, there was $307,000 in available funds but the committee had requests that totaled $670,256.64, according to the staff report. The committee was allowed to fund 80% of the 40 organizations that applied, the report states.
Each organization’s funding request was capped at $20,000.
Almost Home Inc., received $20,000 from the city to supplement its homelessness program while Maiker Housing Partners – which also provides low-income housing – also got $20,000 for staffing and supplies.
Brothers Redevelopment and Catholic Charities & Community Services of the Archdiocese of Denver also received $18,000 apiece for financial assistance for those in housing programs, according to the staff report.
The council said in deciding who got a cut of the funding pie, the committee prioritized groups that help with housing and homelessness, followed by food, health and medical and human services needs, according to a city staff report.
Specifically, the report states, nonprofits which offer the most accessible services to Thornton residents – in-home services, transportation/delivery, location near a bus route/light rail – “are prioritized over those nonprofits who do not.”
Nonprofit applicants were also ranked based on the percentage of Thornton residents served of the overall number of people served by the organization, the staff report states.
The funding for TAF is from the Thornton General Fund and the city council increased the funding from $150,000 to $300,000 starting in 2024 and have staff adjusting annually for inflation, said city spokesman Todd Barnes.
“There are no state or federal funding for this initiative, so the program is stable going into the future,” added Barnes.