Apply for a Neighborhood Reinvestment Program Grant

The Neighborhood Reinvestment Program provides grant funds to non-profit organizations and public agencies for one-time community, social, environmental, education, cultural or recreational needs. Organizations must provide services in or more of the following areas:

  • Educational/recreational projects for children and/or adults
  • Local business and tourism promotional activities
  • Arts and cultural programs
  • Environmental awareness programs or projects, including maintaining and increasing open space holdings
  • Public safety programs including fire protection
  • Health and social service initiatives and programs

Get ready to apply

First, determine which Board of Supervisors district(s) to apply 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 the award history to see what offices have decided to support. 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

Cover letter

Write a cover letter to the Board of Supervisors District Office(s) from which you are requesting funding. Please include a:

  • Brief history of your organization;
  • Description of your proposed project with cost estimate;
  • Statement regarding whether you have submitted Neighborhood Reinvestment Program grant application to any other Board Offices for this or any other project and whether you have an active application for a Community Enhancement Grant. If so, briefly describe each one and indicate the amount requested;
  • Statement about any prior County funding from the Neighborhood Reinvestment Program or the Community Enhancement American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) received by the organization within the past three years;
  • A description of not less than one sentence for each previously funded project including the amount received, and the date of the grant award;
  • Statement that the organization agrees to spend any awarded project funds within 12 months of the grant award.

Organization Information

Popular Name or ‘doing business as’ (d.b.a.): If you are requesting funding for a program or sub-entity with an organization or if your organization is popularly known by a different name, enter that name on this line, e.g. Organization Name: Arts and Theatre Association d.b.a. Our Town Playhouse.

Supervisorial District: Indicate the Board of Supervisors District where your organization is physically located. If you don't know your district, you can check using the Board of Supervisors district map.

Contact Persons: Enter the name of two individuals who will be responsible for overseeing the expenditure of grant funds AND who are authorized to sign the Neighborhood Reinvestment Program grant agreement on behalf of the organization.

Provide copies of pertinent portions of the articles of incorporation, articles of association or other governing documents establishing authority to sign the grant agreement.

How to fill out the grant proposal

Project location: Where will your project take place? If you can, provide a street address. For activities that are not site-specific, briefly describe the area or community that your project will serve.

Purpose of grant: Describe the project for which you’re seeking funding. If the request encompasses multiple needs, provide an itemized list of the components in priority order. A higher priority shall be given to requests for capital projects and other one-time expenses.

Cost estimate: Attach verifiable cost estimates for the project.

Questions 1 and 2: Provide clear, concise answers to help evaluate your proposal. Additional pages may be attached to answer these questions if needed.

How to fill out your financial information

Please provide the requested financial information that reflects the whole organization’s fiscal solvency and not just the project or activities in your proposal.

This portion of the application requests summary budget data for both the last and current fiscal years. Data in the “prior year actuals” column should be actual amounts from the last fiscal year. Data in the “current year” column should reflect current year budgeted amounts, even if the organization uses a fiscal year time period that differs 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 (e.g. State, donations, and other grants)

The form will calculate your total revenues. The “Operating Surplus (Deficit)” is calculated 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: 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.
  • A Levine Act disclosure form: each person listed on the application must fill out a Levine Act disclosure form including the Contact Persons and ALL individuals signing the Board of Supervisors resolution.

Apply now!

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.

Neighborhood Reinvestment Program 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] Neighborhood Reinvestment Program Grant
County of San Diego
1600 Pacific Hwy, Room 335
San Diego, CA 92101

Application materials checklist

  • Cover letter
  • Completed application with grant proposal
  • 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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