Small Grants Awards

Our Small Grants Program allows community organizations to submit a proposal for their project work that benefits the community of Rohnert Park. In 2018, during the first grant cycle, we awarded 28 projects. In 2019, during the second grant cycle, we awarded 26 projects. These proposals exemplified the City's vision to make our community a "safe place to live, work, and play." We are excited to share with you the Small Grants Program awardees.

Cycle 2 Awardees

Projects
1. American Panna Championship, $2,500
Create a mural for the paved court at Santa Alicia Park. The court is frequently used as a street soccer court.
2. Artstart, $5,000

ArtstartArtstart

Create two sturdy park style benches for the Roberts Lake Dog Park. The theme and construction of the benches will be done in collaboration with Rohnert Park high school students.
3. Envirichment, $5,000

Envirichment

Install 5 to 8 storm drain art projects around the City. Collaboration will involve local community groups, students, and Public Works.

4. Hahn Elementary School, $3,000
Purchase water bottle filling station on the school campus. This will replace a traditional water fountain.

5. John Reed School, $4,400
Create a "playscape" sensory path on the school play yard.

6. Neighbors Organized Against Hunger, $5,000

NoahNoah

Purchase generators to power food storage coolers in the event of power shutoffs or power interruptions. 

7. On Campus Ministries/Sozo Student Center, $2,000
Purchase chromebook laptops to support tutoring program in the Sozo Center located in the University Square shopping center.

8. Rancho Cotate High School Hospitality Course, $3,850

Rancho Cotate Hospitality Course

Purchase chromebook laptops to support high school career course focused on the hospitality, tourism, and recreation industry.

9. Rancho Cotate High School Engineering Shop, $4,500

THS Engineering ShopRancho Cotate Engineering Shop

Construction of an organic hydroponic farm on campus.

10. Rohnert Park Community Chorale, $5,000

RP Chorale Piano

Purchase of a new piano.

11. The Sitting Room Community Library, $3,500
Produce a poetry multi-media project with Rohnert Park high school youth.

12. Soccer Stars, $1,550

Soccer StarsSoccer Stars

Purchase of equipment for a soccer instruction program for 5-10 year olds. The program is affiliated with the Community Services classes. 

13. SweetPea Gift Shoppe, $4,000

Sweet Pea Gift ShoppeSweet Pea Gift Shoppe

New interior paint and signage for the volunteer-run gift shop attached to the Senior Center.

14. Technology High School Music Department, $5,000

Tech HS Music Program

Purchase of new instruments for school’s new music program.

15. Technology High School Associated Student Body, $2,300
Purchase of an outdoor speaker/PA System for events.

16. THS Titans Boosters, Inc., $5,000

Titans Boosters, Inc. Uniforms

Purchase of uniforms for various sports teams at Technology High School.
Services
17. Boys and Girls Club of Sonoma-Marin, $5,000
Build capacity to serve more youth during the 2020 Summer Camp in Rohnert Park.

18. Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership, $5,000
Conduct Rohnert Park community service projects as part of the Center’s Youth Impact Program.

19. Farmster, $3,000
Support a year-long pilot program with Sonoma State’s on-campus Sustainability Club. Program will foster food waste diversion, livestock and landscape maintenance, and farming.

20. Heartwood Church, $2,500

Heartwood ChurchHeartwood Church

Distribution of backpacks filled with school supplies, basic needs (clothes), and food vouchers to CRPUSD students experiencing homelessness. 

21. Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, $3,300

SCBC

Operate a pilot valet bike parking program during the 2020 season of the Rohnert Park Farmers' Market.

22. Technology High School PTSA, $5,000
Implement the SCOE-approved Safe School Ambassadors Program (anti-bullying) on the Technology High School Campus.

23. The Frame4Project, $5,000

Frame4Frame4

Conduct a career sampler course involving Rohnert Park high schools and local businesses.

Events
24. Gateway Christian Church, $3,000
Host the 2020 Trunk-or-Treat Event, a family festival held in the parking lot of the organization in October 2020. 

25. Green Music Center, $5,000

GMCGMC

Funds will be used to support four educational engagement workshops where local students and members of the community are invited to meet performing artists on the Green Music Center circuit.

26. Technology Middle School Athletics Boosters, $1,600

THS Athletic BoostersTHS Athletic Boosters

Support an all-city sports expo, inviting students and families from Lawrence Jones Middle and Technology Middle School. 

Cycle 1 Awardees

1. Animal Shelter League of Rohnert Park, $5,000

2018/2019 Pet Wellness Clinics to be held at the Senior Center and the Rancho Verde Mobile Home Park. The clinics will target low/limited income pet owners and will offer veterinary exams, vaccinations, parasite control, and microchipping/ID tags.

2. Armed Forces Banner Program, $1,825

Armed Forces

Installation and maintenance of banners honoring active duty Rohnert Park citizens. Funds will be used to subsidize limited-income families that need help to participate in the program in the 2018/2019 year. Banner renewal/maintenance will also be provided during the year.

3. ArtStart, $4,900

ArtstartArtstart

Coordinate volunteers to design and create a mural for the Rohnert Park Senior Center. Funds will be used for ArtStart project management and materials for the project.

4. Awakening Entelechy (Credo High School), $1,400

Host the 2019 One Planet Summit at Credo High School. The One Planet Summit offers workshops on projects that enhance local conservation habits and sustainability efforts. Funds will be used for materials to promote and host the event.

5. California Parenting Institute, $5,000

Provide expanded on-site trauma counseling at a Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District campus. Funds will also serve as a match to leverage additional grant funding for services at CRPUSD.

6. Council on Aging, $3,250

Conduct an “Age Friendly Assessment” that will provide an analysis of assets and challenges specific to older residents to access activities, events, and public spaces in Rohnert Park. Funds will be used for materials to support volunteers (safety equipment, food, water), conduct the analysis, and produce printed materials.

7. Daily Acts, $5,000

Conduct rapid trash assessments and clean-up projects along Hinebaugh and Copeland Creeks. Funds will be used for materials and equipment, coordinate the events, and produce the reports. Daily Acts will work with volunteers from JUMP, a Sonoma State student service organization. This project helps the City meet its storm water permit requirements.

8. Education Foundation of Cotati and Rohnert Park, $5,000

Education Foundation

Contribution toward the 2018/2019 EFCRP Grant Campaign. EFCRP raises approximately $50,000 per year to make grants for Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District teachers. Grant funds will be used to purchase classroom technology and materials.

9. Friends of the Family Resource Center, $3,500

Provide stipends for short-term emergency assistance or one-time housing support to Rohnert Park families involved in the Petaluma Adult School. Grant funds will be reserved for stipends to families that live in the Rohnert Park zip code.

10. Girl Scouts Troop 106, $5,000

Girl Scouts

Clean-up, paint, and upgrade of the Scout Hut located in Alicia Park. Funds will be used for painting and landscape materials, kitchen appliances, tables, chairs, and tools.

11. M. Hahn Elementary School, $4,975

Hahn

Development of “Imagination Playground” at M. Hahn Elementary School. Funds will be used to purchase large-scale playground building blocks that will be used to create houses or other imaginative structures in the play yard.

12. MALCS de SSU, $1,400

Funds will be used to support the North Bay Women of Color Conference, which invites participants to discuss issues affecting women of color in academia and in the community.

13. Neighbors Organized Against Hunger, $5,000

NOAH

Provide food assistance to local residents at the weekly NOAH Pantry. Funds will be used to purchase foods from the Redwood Empire Food Bank.

14. Petaluma Bounty, $5,000

Conduct the “Produce Rx Treatment” (Produce Prescription) program, which encourages families that face multiple barriers to access high quality and local food by introducing them to local food sources. Funds will be used to distribute vouchers for the Rohnert Park Farmers’ Market to families in need. Families will be identified in partnership with the Rohnert Park Health Center.

15. Richard Crane Elementary School, $5,000

Richard Crane

Build an outdoor table tennis table at the Richard Crane Elementary School campus. Funds will be used toward the purchase and construction of a concrete table tennis table that will be available not only for the students but also for use in after-school and weekend hours.

16. Rising Sun Energy Center, $1,750

Conduct a Rohnert Park open house event to showcase residential energy and water conservation improvements. Funds will be used to distribute energy-efficient equipment and printed materials to Rohnert Park residents in the course of the 2018/19 California Youth Energy Services campaign.

17. Rohnert Park Community Band, $3,000

Community Band

Funds will be used to purchase materials (music sheets), event insurance fees, and advertising expenses in support of the Community Band’s 2018/2019 concerts, which will be offered on Veteran’s Day, winter, spring, and Memorial Day.

18. Rohnert Park Community Chorale, $2,000

Funds will be used to repaint the interior of the Burton Recreation Center, which the Chorale uses for practice and to hold its concerts.

19. Rohnert Park Health Center, $5,000

Expansion of the School-Based Dental Program to the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District. Funds will be used to offset the out-of-pocket costs associated with restorative and emergency treatment services offered to CRPUSD students who receive services at the Rohnert Park Health Center and the mobile school-based program.

20. Rohnert Park Historical Society, $5,000

Catalog and curate the Historical Society collection and establish a display case in the Community Center. Funds will be used for rental storage space and towards the purchase of a cabinet to house a rotating exhibit that will be maintained by Historical Society volunteers.

21. Rohnert Park Pickleball Club, $5,000

Upgrade and maintain the City’s new pickleball courts. Funds will be used to install court windshields and to purchase and store equipment required to prepare the courts for play (blowers, brooms, water removers).

22. Rotary Club of Cotati and Rohnert Park, $5,000

Rotary

Phase 2 construction of the Burton Recreational Center Peace Park/Garden. Funds will be used to purchase landscape and hardscape materials.  

23. Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition. $5,000

Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition

Offer Safe Routes to School events in at least one Rohnert Park elementary school. Funds will be used to offer Safe Routes to School activities (bike rodeo, bike & ped encouragement assembly, Helmet Safety Day). The organization is currently working with the school district to finalize which campuses will hold Safe Routes to School events in the 2018/19 year.

24. Sonoma County Black Forum, $1,400

Funds will be used to support the 2018 Youth Summit event on Sonoma State, which invites low-income and underserved middle school and high school students of Sonoma County to participate in resume writing, job interviewing, and college application workshops. The event in held in collaboration with the Black Student Union at Sonoma State University.

25. SSU Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, $1,400

Funds will be used to support the Safe Trick-or-Treat event held on the Sonoma State Campus in October. The event invites the broader community to attend the event, and the host organization arranges for logistics, treats, and parking.

26. SSU Nursing Department, $1,400

SSU Nursing Department

Funds will be used toward the purchase of a medical model that is used for elementary, middle, and high school presentations. Rohnert Park schools, as well as other Sonoma County schools, will host the Nursing Department presentations.

27. SSU Student Veterans Club, $1,400

Funds will be used to support networking that connects military veteran students with Sonoma County veteran-related services.

28. SSU Virtual Reality Club, $1,400

Funds will be used to purchase equipment in support of the VR Club’s “360 Degree Tour” project which will include campus highlights as well as popular places and landmarks in Rohnert Park. The project, which will allow internet users to experience the tour, will be shared with Rohnert Park to be posted to the City website.