TL CULTURAL EVENTS & ACTIVATIONS MINI GRANTS DESCRIPTIONS
Arab women and youth voice & culture
This mini grant will fund a monthly workshop highlighting Arabic culture through the lens of women and youth, workshops will highlight Arabic fashion, food, and arts. This mini grant will also fund two bigger activations to celebrate Arabic culture in the neighborhood.
Celebrating Diversity in the Tenderloin
This mini grant will fund two cultural events in the Tenderloin led by SEADC to help highlight the diversity in our community.
Code Tenderloin Dinner of Gratitude
This mini grant will fund a community dinner with home-cooked meals while providing a safe place for family, friends, and community connectivity. A roving team will also distribute meals to the greater neighborhood.
Concert Series and Pool Party at The Phoenix
This mini grant will fund a concert series three times in December and a Pool Party in May at the Phoenix Hotel.
CounterPulse Drumming Circle
This mini grant will fund CounterPulse drumming circle programming on the 300 block of Ellis.
CSF: Adopt-a-Block: 500 Larkin
This mini grant will fund a 3-month lunchtime activation along the 500 block of Larkin Street starting in December of 2023, led by Civic Space Foundation.
Dodge Alley Socials
This mini grant will fund 6 monthly activations at Dodge alley starting Jan 2024, led by Shovel’s Bar & Grill.
Himalayan Eats & Cultural Beats
This mini grant will fund small business Himalayan Pizza & Momo to be able to contribute cultural eats & beats to the Tenderloin to celebrate Nepali New Year.
I Love Tenderloin Day and I Love Tenderloin Week
This mini grant will fund two I Love Tenderloin Day activations and I Love tenderloin Week. “I Love Tenderloin” will be a fun and engaging week of community building, through performances and celebration of local talent, showcasing the rich restaurant and bar scene, spotlighting small businesses and cultural destinations, and celebrating all the positive attributes of this diverse and eclectic neighborhood. The community seeks to share first-hand what many people who live, work, and run small businesses in the Tenderloin already know, that the neighborhood is a destination full of opportunity
Psyched! Radio Tenderloin Music and Arts Festival
This mini grant will fund a two day long music and arts festival that will take place all over the Tenderloin in different venues, bars and other spaces including the activation of an alley or street in the Tenderloin.
SEAACC’s Multicultural Spring Festival
This mini grant will fund a Multicultural Festival led by SEAACC in the Spring.
SF First Thursday Art Walk: Tenderloin + Lower Polk
This mini grant will fund the Tenderloin & Lower Polk First Thursdays, a self guided walking tour featuring art openings, performances, and other events open late to the public on the evenings of the First Thursdays of each month.
Sharing Sudanese Culture
This mini grant will fund small business Z Zoul Cafe to be able to contribute Sudanese cuisine meals to two different community events in the Tenderloin of this mini-grant program.
Tenderloin Eid Al-Fitr Celebration
This mini grant will fund the Eid AlFitr Event for our Tenderloin families and kids.
The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot Play
This mini grant will fund free community preview nights for The Compton’s Cafeteria riot play, as well as help fund the play’s outdoor opening celebration/block party.
The Leavenworth Passport
This mini grant will fund a series of monthly activations that will highlight 3 staple businesses on Leavenworth street: Azalina’s, The Black Cat, and The Tenderloin Museum.
Scoring guidance
TLCBD’s scoring system for this mini-grant was designed to encourage reliable and transparent scoring of applications. Reviewers who assign high ratings to all applications diminish their ability to communicate the impact of an individual application. Therefore, reviewers who carefully consider the rating guidance below can improve the reliability of their scores, as well as their ability to communicate the impact of the applications reviewed.
This grant application scoring system uses a 5-point rating scale (5 = exceptional; 1 = poor) in whole numbers (no decimals) for all evaluation scores for all applications. TLCBD expects that scores of 1 or 5 will be used less frequently than the other scores. The score of 3-points is for a medium-impact application and considered an average score.
Each application will be scored 5 times for a total possible aggregate score of 300 points. Each application will be evaluated by 3 different members of the P&V committee and by C.Salazar (TLCBD, mini-grant manager) and B.Davis (OEWD, mini-grant partner).
What is the scoring criteria?
- Feasible and Ready to Implement – We prioritize events & activations, including programming, that are poised to start quickly using the resources the award provides. In this case, this means you should be prepared to start events and activations as early as October 2023.
- The project is well defined within the narrative and has clear and actionable activities, milestones and strategies
- Applicant has past experience implementing a project of this size/type
- The project applicants has reasonable expectations for technical assistance (ie the applicant can execute a majority of the project and not require more than ~10hrs of TA)
- Realistic to implement by June 2024 (ie permitting, planning, timeline is realistic to be complete by June 2024)
- Economic & Community Benefit – Events and activations that create economic opportunities for Tenderloin local businesses and local organizations are highly encouraged. We are particularly interested in events and activations that provide economic opportunities for Tenderloin-based artists, performers, youth, people of color, low-income or unemployed individuals, seniors, and/or people with disabilities and/or recurring activations that provide consistent programming for residents to enjoy and partners to promote.
- Project provides economic opportunities for TL-based small businesses, artists and/or residents
- Project positively activates a TL open space or street
- Project supports community building among TL-based CBOs
- Project adds to a positive narrative about the TL
- Budget – We focus on discrete projects that can be implemented with the $15,000 award this program provides, with no additional funding required. All submissions are required to complete and submit a project budget using the budget template provided.
- Budget seems reasonable for the activities proposed
- Costs for the project as described in the narrative are accounted for in the budget
- Proposed project expenses are in alignment with grant guidelines and City funding regulations
- The total funding amount is in alignment with the targeted number of attendees for the project (ie smaller budgets for fewer attendees, larger budgets for more attendees)
Who do I contact if I have any questions or need help grading my applications?
For any questions please contact TLCBD Director of Community Engagement Cyntia Salazar at cyntia@tlcbd.org if you have an urgent need, please call/text me at (415) 368-7156
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