HomeMy WebLinkAboutFY26 LA2A CommUnity ResponsesDecember 6, 2024
FY26 Legacy Aid to Agencies
HCDC Question and Answer (Q&A) Session
Instructions
The Q&A session provides an opportunity for commissioners and staff to ask clarifying
questions about the applications submitted through United Way. Please provide written
responses to the questions below. Written responses must be received by City staff no
later than December 6, 2024. This process is intended to gather the information
required to accurately score submissions. Written responses can be directed to Brianna
Thul at bthul(@iowa-citv.orq or dropped off at City Hall (410 E Washington Street).
All information related to this grant will be posted at www.icaov.orq/grants. The Housing
and Community Development Commission will hold a meeting on January 27th, 2025,
at 6:30pm in City Hall to develop funding recommendations for City Council. This
meeting is open to the public and applicants are welcome to attend to hear the
conversation. The meeting will also be recorded and posted online for those unable to
attend.
Agency:
CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank
Questions:
1. The agency selected 7 outcomes measures for FY24 in their previous joint
funding application. Data reported on this application shows that they only
met 1 of 7. Please explain.
Thank you for the opportunity to address this, as it highlighted the need to improve
some internal procedures to ensure consistency in the midst of staff turnover.
First, the targets for the following two metrics were set by a former staff member utilizing
a different data point than our agency standard:
• # of individuals receiving nutritional support services (referred to below as `Food
Bank stat')
• # of individuals receiving services for stable housing (referred to below as
`Financial Support stat')
On the Food Bank stat, the target was based on the total duplicated number of
individuals in FY24 (or in other words, total visits to the Food Bank), whereas the
number reported is the number of unique individuals who benefited from the Food Bank
in FY24. We believe the number reported (unique individuals) is truer to the wording of
the outcome measure, and is consistent with outcome targets and reports in FY23 and
before. FY24 saw the largest number of unique individuals served in CommUnity's
history, up 11 % from the prior year.
December 6, 2024
On the Financial Support stat, the target was erroneously based on ALL financial
support assists (including assistance for identification fees, prescription medication, gas
cards, etc.) instead of just rent and security deposit assists, which is what was reported.
Again, we believe the reported number is truer to the language of the outcome
measure.
The zeroes on the other four Percentage outcome measures were an oversight in
reporting, and we have contacted the United Way to ensure we can update the
eCimpact portal with those numbers as soon as possible. The percentages set as
targets were conservative estimates, but are consistently exceeded year after year.
CommUnity's current Grants and Compliance staff were involved in the writing of the
FY25 and FY26-27 applications, and more thorough notes on our target projections
were captured to ensure more consistent reporting in the future.
2. Is the operating deficit in the budget accurate?
CommUnity stands behind the numbers entered into each line item in the application
budget, but the automatic calculations on the application cause the operating
deficittsurplus line to differ from CommUnity's own audited financial statements.
On our FY24 audited financial statements (not yet formally approved by the board, but
available in draft form), which use Accrual accounting, CommUnity ended FY24 with
approximately $1.7M net operating income. On the application budget, the Revenue
Total less the Expenses Total aligns with this number.
Because all of the restricted funds ($2.49M for the purchase and renovation of the
Healing Prairie Farm Property for Youth Crisis Stabilization services) are also
subtracted from the Total Revenue (in addition to Total Operating Expenses), the
calculation shows a deficit. However, the farm purchase ultimately became an asset
added to the balance sheet.