ALAMOSA — Trying to make the process more equitable for potential recipients, the Alamosa city council is changing the way it handles requests for sponsorships.

The council has $10,000 set aside each year for sponsorships of events like the Alamosa Round-UP and Cinco de Mayo. In the past the council has approved funding on a first-come, first served basis while trying to leave some money in the fund for requests that might come in later in the year.

Under a new process approved by the council during its January 16th meeting, requests will be taken in two batches during the year, with all requests for sponsorship of events occurring in the first half of the year (prior to June 30) due by February 1 and all requests for sponsorship of events occurring in the last half of the year (through December 31) due by April 5. Any group requesting funding apart from that process will have to wait until the next year’s funding cycle to apply.

The $10,000 budget for city sponsorships will be split in two, with $5,000 available to those requesting funding for events in the first half of the year and the other $5,000 available for those requesting sponsorship of events occurring in the second half of the year.

Two councilors will review the applications and make their recommendations to the rest of the council, but all of the requests would still be available for all of the council to review as well. Councilors Kristina Daniel and Jan Vigil volunteered to review the requests.

Alamosa City Manager Heather Brooks reminded the city council that last year the council received many requests for outside funding for very worthwhile projects, “and we quickly went through the $10,000.”

The council then tried to find funding from other sources, she added. This led to the idea that perhaps the council should use a more structured process to fund such requests, she explained.

“We want to be fair and objective,” she said.

The council can also make better informed decisions, she added, because it will have all of the requests for half of the year to view at one time and consider how best to divvy up the funds for those requests.

If someone misses the deadline, the organization can wait until next year, rather than the council trying to find money outside of its funding cycle, as it has in the past, Brooks added.

Councilor Liz Hensley said with so many events happening in the second half of the year, she wondered if it might be better to take all requests at the beginning of the year for the entire year and then decide how to divide up the $10,000. (Brooks said the funds could be split 40/60 rather than 50/50 if the council desired, and Councilor Vigil said the city could split the year in thirds to take requests, as another option.)

Councilor Daniel said she felt the opposite. She said she liked the idea of splitting the requests and funding in half, because she believed it gave people more opportunities.

Hensley said the city could try the recommended process this year ($10,000 split and requests split for each half of the year) and could change it next year if the council decided it needed to be tweaked.

She said she wanted to make sure those who had received sponsorship funding from the city in the past knew about this change. “It’s only fair to people who have come to us in the past that they know this process has changed,” she said.

The city staff is trying to get the word out to past and potential recipients that the application timing and process has changed.

Hensley said some organizations holding events in the second half of the year, like the SLV Rural Philanthropy Days that made a $1,000 request of council during its January 16th meeting, might need to know whether they had funding before the deadline for the second half of the year funding. The Philanthropy Days Conference will be held September 17-19.

As he has said in the past, Councilor Charles Griego said he believes this money should be used to help events get going, not as ongoing funding year after year.

The council unanimously decided to conduct its sponsorship process as Brooks has presented for this year, with half of the money allocated to applications received by February 1 for events in the first part of the year and the other half for applications received by April 5 for events in the second half of the year.

In future years, the due date for applications for events occurring in the first part of the year would be October so the council could make decisions before the end of the year. The due date for the second half of the year would remain in April.

The application form can be found on the city’s website at www.cityofalamosa.org > City Council > Council Links or by calling 587-2509.

Those requesting funding will fill out an application form that will seek, among other items, information about the event, if there is an admission fee, how many attendees are expected, the event’s mission and target market and what makes the event unique. Events requesting city sponsorship funding must be held within the city limits, be open to the public and demonstrate an ability for economic or social impact. Budgets must be attached.