Apply for a Community Enhancement Grant

The Community Enhancement Program provides grant funds to nonprofit organizations and public agencies for programs and services that promote:

  • Tourism
  • Job creation and economic development 
  • Quality of life 
  • Cultural activities

Get ready to apply

Find your district

First, determine which Board of Supervisors district(s) that you’re applying to using the Board of Supervisors district map. Submit your application to the Board of Supervisors district where your project or program will take place. If it is in multiple districts, you will need to submit a separate application to each district office.

You can look at past awards to see what offices decided to support. Examples of groups that have received Community Enhancement funding are:

  • Museums and cultural institutions
  • Visitor and convention bureaus
  • Economic development councils

You can also review each office's funding priorities on their websites:

Make sure you are eligible

Non-profit organizations must have Tax Exempt/Non-profit status with the IRS and be registered and in good standing with the California Attorney General and California Secretary of State. 

Before starting your application, make sure you have the necessary financial and tax eligibility documents listed below. You will have to submit all of them with your application. These requirements do not apply to public agencies.

  • A copy of the IRS letter showing your organization’s current Tax Exempt/Non-profit Status.
  • A copy of pages 1-8 of the most recent IRS form 990 or pages 1-3 of 990EZ. For organizations with total revenue lower than $50,000, attach IRS form 990N e-postcard.
  • A screenshot of the CA Attorney General Charitable Registration Verification Tool showing your organization’s CURRENT or EXEMPT status, or a screenshot of a transaction paying your Initial or Annual Registration. 
  • A screenshot of the CA Secretary of State Business Search results showing your organization’s ACTIVE status, or a screenshot of a transaction paying to establish or renew active status. 

Application instructions

How to fill out your grant proposal

Use the questions below to help you fill out the grant proposal information on pages 2-3.

ACTIVITY(IES) TO BE FUNDED: What are you requesting grant funds for?

You can propose up to five (5) different activities per application. List them in order of priority, including a title, brief description, the Board of Supervisors district where it will take place, and the amount of funding requested for each activity. Clearly indicate how you would spend the funds in your response.

You cannot spend grant funds on anything that is not part of the activity descriptions in your application. For example, if your activity is listed as "printing brochures," you cannot use grant funds to pay to mail or design those brochures.

If the activity is an event, it must take place within the County fiscal year that you received the grant. If your application has fewer than five activities, leave any remaining activity sections blank.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: How are you measuring success?

Provide clear, concise responses to the following questions in the spaces provided in the application.

  • How will your project benefit the people of San Diego County?
  • How does your organization plan to measure the impact of your proposed activities?
  • What steps is your organization taking to increase funding from other sources?
  • Briefly describe how effective your organization is in meeting its goals and the impact of past grants, including the number of people served.

How to fill out your financial information

Please provide the requested financial information to reflect the entire orgnization's fiscal solvency, not just the projects or activities in your proposal.

Use summary budget data from the current fiscal year and the year immediately prior. Data provided in the "prior year actuals" column should be actual amounts. The "current year" column should reflect budgeted amounts for the current year, even if your organization uses a fiscal year time period that is different from the County's (July 1-June 30).

Report revenues in the following categories:

  • County Community Enhancement Program Grant
  • County Community Enhancement Program Grant, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
  • County Neighborhood Reinvestment Program Grant
  • City funding (specify the city)
  • Other revenues (i.e. State, donations, other grants)

The form will calculate your total revenues. Enter your total expenditures as a negative number, and the form will calculate the "Operating Surplus (Deficit)" as the difference between revenues and expenditures.

How to fill out organizational forms

The final two pages of the application are templates for necessary organizational forms: a Board resolution and a Levine Act disclosure form.

Non-profit organizations must have their Board of Directors sign a resolution authorizing the submission of the funding application. This requirement does not apply to public agencies.

Each person listed on the application must fill out a Levine Act disclosure form. This includes the:

  • Contact person;
  • Adminstrator of funds; and
  • ALL individuals signing the Board of Supervisors resolution.

Apply now!

Download the application form. Submit your completed application, cover letter, tax and elibility documentation, and signed forms to the Board of Supervisors district office of the district(s) you are applying to. If you are applying to more than one Board of Supervisors district, you must send a separate application package to each office.

Community Enhancement Grant Application

How to submit

Email your completed application and supporting documents to the appropriate Board of Supervisors district office. Email is the peferred method. 

As an alternative to email, you can mail or drop off your completed application and supporting documents to: 

District [Number] Community Enhancement Grant
County of San Diego
1600 Pacific Hwy, Room 335
San Diego, CA 92101

Application materials checklist

  • Your completed application
  • Any additional information related to project location information, cost estimates, or to answer questions on page 2
  • Eligibility documents from the IRS, CA Attorney General, and CA Secretary of State*
  • A complete, signed Levine Act disclosure form for each contact person listed
  • Resolution from your organization's Board of Supervisors*

*Not required for public agencies

Need help?

For questions about your application proposal, contact the Board of Supervisors office(s) you are applying to:

For technical questions, please contact cenrpgrants@sdcounty.ca.gov.

If you are awarded a grant

If the Board of Supervisors awards you a grant, you will get an e-mail notification from the Office of Economic Development and Government Affairs with an award agreement. After you sign and return the award agreement, we will begin to process the funding checks.

Reporting how you spend funds

You must keep detailed records of how you spend the grant funds. The grant period is 12 months. You must spend any grant funds during the grant period. You must submit financial reports within 30 days after the grant period ends. 

Learn more on our How to Report Expenditures page.

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