City of Asheville approves fourth round of Strategic Partnership Grant awards

Award Announcement

Asheville City Council approved last night, as part of Council’s agenda, the fourth round of Strategic Partnership Grant (SPG) Program awards and authorized the City Manager to execute grant agreements. 

Using Strategic Partnership funding, the City has awarded $237,000 in grants to five different non-profit organizations to help address the opportunity gap for low to moderate-income school-aged youth. Since the SPG program re-launched in 2022, the program has awarded a total of $1,018,709 to 21 programs. The Strategic Partnership Fund Pilot Program first awarded Asheville area non-profits funding in July 2022. This latest round of funding represents the City’s continued commitment to closing the opportunity gap for Asheville’s youth.

Award Recipients

Twenty-one applications were received between December 15, 2023, and February 2, 2024. Applications were reviewed based on each program’s demonstrated ability to address the opportunity gap for school-age youth, ability to track and measure results, available resources and capacity to carry out the project, organizational and programmatic commitment to equity, and workable budget to support the program.

Applicants also submitted prerecorded presentations, providing an overview of the proposal for the evaluation panel and the Equity and Engagement Committee. On April 16, the Equity and Engagement Committee voted to move the funding recommendations for a vote by the full City Council at the April 23rd meeting.