The 2009 Budget Support Act (BSA) recently passed by the DC Council has little good news for Ward 5 organizations.

The BSA provides $48 million in grants to more than 140 District organizations, but to only four groups in Ward 5.

Ward 5 organizations received only $1.6 million out of the total.

A significant factor in the failure of Ward 5 organizations to receive grant funds was the decision by Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. not to champion local groups during the budget process.

Brookland Heartbeat interviewed several DC Council staff members for this article, none of whom chose to be identified.

The staffers described a grant award process based on politics, negotiation, lobbying, public testimony, and closed-door meetings.

You have to be in it to win it

In March, an original list of 44 grants was submitted by Mayor Fenty to the DC Council for approval as part of the 2009 Budget Support Act (BSA).

During the next several months, councilmembers added dozens of organizations to the list, increasing total grant spending by approximately $17 million.

Council staffers explained that organizations were added to the grant list if they were championed by the Mayor, an individual councilmember, or a Council committee.

The final list of grant awards was then “hashed out,” as one staffer said, in a closed-door meeting of all the councilmembers.

Ward 5 left aside

At a May 13th budget hearing, Mr. Thomas spoke about the importance of grants as a means of getting funds directly into the hands of community groups.

“What greater service of government is there than on the streets reaching your constituents?” he said.

Mr. Thomas said Ward 5 had a particular need for targeted grants given recent spikes in crime. Despite public statements like this, Mr. Thomas did not secure any funding for Ward 5 civic groups or non-profits in the 2009 BSA.

The $600,000 in BSA grants that Mr. Thomas also approved as chairman of the Committee on Libraries, Parks and Recreation went to other wards.

When asked to explain the unfavorable results for Ward 5, Mr. Thomas backed away from his previous support for grants, explaining that they were not an area of focus for him.

Mr. Thomas said in a written statement: “My emphasis was primarily based upon permanent and recurrent funding for Ward 5 residents.”

Mr. Thomas said he was able to “achieve multi-year funding” for Ward 5 projects in future years.

Bad luck for Goodwill

The failure of Ward 5 organizations to receive grants has real-world costs.

Goodwill of Greater Washington, headquartered on South Dakota Avenue in Ward 5, has existed for more than 70 years.

Since Councilmember Thomas took office, the organization has seen its District grant funding dwindle to zero.

Goodwill employs many Ward 5 residents and many of the people it serves live in Ward 5.

Goodwill provides skills and career training to those in need. “We are getting people back to work,” said VP of Development Kathleen King.

Goodwill VP Colleen Paletta testified before the DC Council in April about the success of the organization’s new construction career training program.

Ms. Paletta said there were “enormous waiting lists” of students wanting to participate, but that Goodwill needed funds to serve them.

Despite the program’s success, Goodwill did not receive any grant funding in the 2009 BSA.

“It’s a little scary,” Ms. King said about Goodwill’s current funding situation. Ms. King said that reduced funding means cutbacks in services.

According to Ms. King, Goodwill’s funding was also slashed by the District in 2008 to one quarter the expected amount.

Ms. King attributed Goodwill’s lack of grant funding to competing priorities in the District: “there are so many competing needs,” she said.

Ms. King said Councilmember Thomas was aware of Goodwill’s programs. “We have a lot of praise for him,” she said. Ms. King was particularly impressed that Mr. Thomas attended a recent graduation ceremony.

Mr. Thomas was not present when Goodwill representatives pleaded their case for grant funding in front of the DC Council in April.

Show Me the Money

The four Ward 5 recipients of BSA grant funds are Food & Friends ($800,000), DC Birth Center ($400,000), Dress for Success ($250,000) and Byte Back ($100,000).

The remainder of the $48 million was allocated to organizations in other wards. Examples include $200,000 for the Fiesta DC festival in Ward 1; $2 million for OIC/DC employment and training services in Ward 8; $22,000 for the Sports 4 Kids after school program in Ward 7; $50,000 for Friends of Book Hill Park in Ward 3; and $10 million for an educational center at Ford’s Theatre in Ward 2.

The grants for DC Birth Center and Food & Friends were sponsored by Councilmember David Catania, Chairman of the Council Committee on Health. The $250,000 grant for Dress for Success was sponsored by Council Chairman Vincent Gray. The $100,000 award for Byte Back came from two sources: $50,000 from Councilmember Kwame Brown and $50,000 from Councilmember Marion Barry.

“It was priceless—absolutely a godsend,” said Byte Back board chair Kelley Ellsworth of the $100,000 grant her organization received.

Ms. Ellsworth applauded the BSA grant allocations, saying, “these are really a way for a small but vital community organization to get their foot in the door.”

Dress for Success also had cause to rejoice. The organization saw its BSA grant funding increase from $100,000 in 2008 to $250,000 in 2009.

Dress for Success employees, volunteers and supporters recently celebrated the good news at the organization’s sixth anniversary reception and open house.

Dress for Success provides professional clothing free of charge to disadvantaged women trying to enter the workforce. Board member Barbara Kahlow attributed the organization’s success in winning BSA grants to political savvy. Ms. Kahlow said Dress for Success had an honorary board of all the DC councilmembers and Eleanor Holmes Norton.