MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENTS COMMITTEE
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
1 p.m.
Remote Meeting via video and teleconferencing
 

Minutes 

Chair Collins called the meeting to order at 1:13 p.m.

1. Roll Call
   
   Commissioners Present
   Charles Collins, Chair
   Suzanne Ferras
   Nabiel Musleh
   Linda Parker Pennington
   Marcus Shelby
   Janine Shiota
   
   Commissioners Absent
   ​Roberto Ordeñana
   
   Staff Present
   Joanne Lee
   Jaren Bonillo
   
   Chair Collins announced virtual meeting instructions. Program Associate Lorena Moreno announced public comment instructions.
    
2. General Public Comment
   There was no public comment.
    
3. Staff Report
   Deputy Director of Programs Joanne Lee introduced and welcomed Acting Director Denise Bradley-Tyson to her first Community Investments Committee meeting. Acting Director Denise Bradley-Tyson introduced herself and thanked the staff for getting her acquainted with the agency and its processes. Deputy Director Lee then gave an overview of the 2021-2022 grant cycle and expressed delight that Community Investment's grant opportunities were highlighted in Mayor London Breed's recent press release, which announced the final report and recommendations of the Economic Recovery Taskforce. Deputy Director Lee highlighted last year's (2020-2021) $4.6 million grantmaking impact and went on to review the Arts Impact Endowment and how its priorities are aligned with the 2021-2022 Request For Proposals (RFP) for the Arts Hub, Universal Basic Income (UBI) and Re-Opening Safely, which are responsive to the needs and recovery of the arts sector due to the impacts of COVID-19. Deputy Director Lee went on to describe each RFP in detail. 
   
   Senior Program Officer Jaren Bonillo gave a history of and reviewed the Cultural Equity Endowment legislation and announced that the 2021-2022 grant applications and guidelines will launch on the San Francisco Arts Commission's (SFAC) website on Monday, October 19, 2020. Senior Program Officer Bonillo then provided a detailed overview of the current grant categories being offered. 

   Commissioner Nabiel Musleh joined the meeting at 1:28 p.m.
   
   Chair Collins thanked Deputy Director Lee and Senior Program Officer Bonillo for their presentations and opened up the discussion. Commissioner Linda Parker-Pennington expressed excitement for the expanded categories of grants that are addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on the arts community. She expressed a desire and a commitment to conduct extensive outreach across all channels to help market these new grant opportunities and encouraged all the commissioners to do the same. Commissioner Marcus Shelby agreed that a social media push is an excellent way to share this information quickly and effectively. He wondered if the informational webinars would be recorded and accessible on the SFAC website and Senior Program Officer Bonillo confirmed this. 
   
   Acting Director Bradley-Tyson wanted to know if webinar attendee demographics would be captured to determine if more targeted outreach is necessary. Senior Program Officer Bonillo confirmed this and added that demographic data collected from the 2020-2021 information sessions was used to inform outreach in the current grant cycle. 
   
   Commissioner Parker Pennington recommended the Racial Equity in the Arts working group as a vehicle to help spread awareness of the current grant categories. Deputy Director Lee offered to follow up on this request with Senior Racial Equity Analyst Sandra Panopio on this suggestion. 

   There was no public comment.
    

4. FY21 SOMA Nonprofit Facilities Fund
   Deputy Director of Programs Joanne Lee gave an overview of the SOMA Nonprofit Facilities Fund. This Fund is part of the community benefits agreement between the City and the developer of teh 5M project at 5th and Howard Streets. Chair Collins asked for further clarification on how the impact fees have been developed as an approach towards funding of development projects and the connection to the arts. Deputy Director Lee explained that the Mayor's office and/or the Planning Department lead negotiations for community benefits agreements with developers that look at the impact of large developments on the existing community. A developer typically pays their impact fees at various key milestones in their developments. Chair Collins opened up the discussion. Commissioner Janine Shiota recalled this particular community benefits package was very transparent and appreciated that the arts were at the table. Acting Director Bradley-Tyson wanted to know what kind of metrics and oversight have been put in place to evaluate Community Vision Capital and Consulting's work, progess, and accessibility. Deputy Director Lee provided a brief history of Community Vision Capital and Consulting's work in the nonprofit sector and the arts. Their grant guidelines will be developed in coordination with the SFAC staff, they will employ best practices and draw upon their work with other City-wide programs and the SFAC will review annual reports and monitor their funds. Commissioner Shiota asked Deputy Director Lee for a follow up as the grant guidelines are being developed. 
   
   Chair Collins called for a motion to approve the recommendation to award the SOMA Nonprofit Facilities Fund grant to Community Vision Capital and Consulting and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a grant agreement not to exceed $600,000 at this time. 
   
   There was no public comment.
   
   The motion carried unanimously by the following vote:
   Ayes: Collins, Shiota, Parker Pennington, Shelby, Ferras, Musleh
    
5. The Sankofa Initiative
   Senior Program Officer Bonillo congratulated Program Officer Tina Wiley on launching the Sankofa Initiative and went on to give an overview of the initiative and the panel selection process that took place on October 7, 2020. The Sankofa Initiative funding recommendations included two applicants for a total of $475,000. Due to a low number of applications and an insufficient response to the Professional and Wellness Development project area, SFAC will reissue and revise the request for proposals to clarify the goals and objectives as well as provide an additional opportunity to outreach to more organizations. Senior Program Officer Bonillo provided a brief description of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, its constituencies and its proposal for the re-granting program.
    
   Acting Director Bradley-Tyson expressed concern about the release of funds in July 2021 when the need for funding is urgent. Deputy Director Lee agreed with Bradley-Tyson's concern, gave an overview of the competitive grant process and explained that the Sankofa Initiative and the Arts Impact Endowment grants are intended to go into contract starting January 1, 2021. Chair Collins asked who is holding the funds and when will it be available within the City fiscal resources? Deputy Director Lee confirmed the Sankofa funds are from fiscal year 2020 and are being held by the SFAC; the funds for fiscal year 2021 are coming in with Proposition E fund projections. Chair Collins affirmed Acting Director Bradley-Tyson's sense of urgency and noted that the Community Investment staff is equally concerned with the same.

   Chair Collins called for a motion to approve the recommendation to award the Sankofa Initiative Cultural Preservation grant to the Alliance for California Traditional Arts and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a grant agreement not to exceed $225,000 at this time.  

   Commissioner Parker Pennington, seconded by Commissioner Ferras moved to approve the motion, as presented.

   There was no public comment.

   The motion carried unanimously by the following vote:
   Ayes: Collins, Shiota, Parker Pennington, Shelby, Ferras, Musleh

   Chair Collins left the meeting and turned over chair duties to Commissioner Shiota at 2:10 p.m.
   
   Senior Program Officer Bonillo provided a brief description of Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts & Technology, its constituencies and its proposal for the re-granting program. Commissioner Shiota called for any recusals and there were none. Commissioner Parker-Pennington offered a personal testimony in recognition of Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts & Technology. 

   Commissioner Shiota called for a motion to approve the recommendation to award the Sankofa Initiative Technology and Supplies Access grant to Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts & Technology and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a grant agreement not to exceed $250,000 at this time.

   There was no public comment.

   The motion carried unanimously by the following vote:
   Ayes: Shiota, Parker Pennington, Shelby, Musleh, Ferras

   Chair Collins returned to the meeting at 2:09 p.m.
    

    
6. New Business and Announcements 
   There was no new business or announcements.
   
   There was no public comment.
    
7. Adjournment
   There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:23 p.m.

posted 10/26/2020, 11:30 a.m. CED
approved 10/23/2020

Archives Available
A recording of this meeting will be available online after the meeting at the following address: https://sfgov.org/arts/audio-archive-1.

Language Accessibility
Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Program Associate Candace Eros Diaz, 415-252-2253, sfac.grants@sfgov.org.

我們將為閣下提供免費的書面翻譯資料和口譯服務。如需協助，Program Associate Candace Eros Diaz, 415-252-2253, sfac.grants@sfgov.org

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Program Associate Candace Eros Diaz, 415-252-2253, sfac.grants@sfgov.org