Agenda Item 3a - GTOPs 2022 Program Award Recommendations — original pdf

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M E M O R A N D U M Community Technology & Telecommunications Commission TO: FROM: Jesse Rodriguez, Interim Program Manager, Financial Services Department April 13, 2022 2022 Grant for Technology Opportunities (GTOPs) Awardees DATE: SUBJECT: The purpose of this memorandum is to request the Commission approve 1) the ten (10) 2022 GTOPs Core Awards, as scored by the GTOPs Grant Review Committee (the Committee) from April 5-11, 2022, with specific award amounts set by formula. GRANT PROGRAM PURPOSE GTOPs provides matching grant funds to Austin organizations that promote resident access to information technology, or that offer literacy programs that create digital opportunities and foster digital inclusion, particularly in underserved segments of our community. The goals of the program are to: ○ Increase use of digital and communications technology devices ○ Increase knowledge and skills of digital and communications technology ○ Increase access to and usage of the Internet AWARDEE SCORING AND SELECTION PROCESS Letters of Interest for 2022 GTOPs Core were accepted from November 1, 2021 through January 9, 2022 and grant applications were accepted from January 14, 2022 through February 13, 2022. The Community Technology & Telecommunications Commission appointed a volunteer Grant Review Committee comprised of seven (7) qualified community representatives, one (1) of whom dropped from the panel prior to final scoring. The City received a total of twenty-nine (18) applications for GTOPs 2022 Core. Prior to final scoring, the applicants were given the opportunity to respond to questions generated by the Committee. The Committee scored these applications using the GTOPs scoring criteria, including: Impact • Alignment with GTOPs Goals • • Success/feasibility • Budget and fiscal responsibility After the final scores were submitted by the Committee, the scores were ranked; the top and bottom reviewer scores were then dropped in accordance with the newly adopted Olympic style scoring system. 1 The remaining scores were averaged to give the formal score. Bonus points were allocated as programmatically required, giving the final application score. The final application scores were then entered into an algorithm that distributed awards proportional to the scoring of each organization, within program parameters. The parameters considered by the algorithm are: 1) $275,000 in GTOPs funds available. 2) The minimum amount awarded to any organization is 70% of the requested amount. 3) Funds are distributed proportional to differences in scoring. 4) The highest number of applications that can be funded considering 1 and 2 will be funded. RECOMMENDATION Of the organizations recommended for GTOPs 2022 Core funding, nine (9) programs have received GTOPs Core funding in the past and one (1) program has never been funded by GTOPs Core. The Committee recommends ten (10) organizations receive funding through GTOPs Core as represented below: Organization name Final Score Request Award Latinitas Inc. HACA Scholarship Foundation Austin Groups for the Elderly Anthropos Arts El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission American Youthworks Breakthrough Austin Children's Museum The Museum Of Human Achievement Goodwill Industries of Central Texas 108.25 107.33 105.75 104.25 100.00 95.38 94.75 92.63 92.00 91.00 $35,000 $31,089.34 $35,000 $30,784.25 $35,000 $30,257.28 $35,000 $29,758.05 $35,000 $28,343.56 $29,450 $21,254.25 $35,000 $26,596.24 $35,000 $25,888.99 $35,000 $25,680.98 $35,000 $25,348.16 Percent Awarded 88.83% 87.96% 86.45% 85.02% 80.98% 72.17% 75.99% 73.97% 73.37% 72.42% Staff requests the Commission approve the GTOPs Grant Review Committee’s recommended 2022 GTOPs Core Awards. Upon Commission ratification and approval, the recommended GTOPs 2022 Awards will be submitted to the Program Manager of the Community Technology Division in the Office of Telecommunications & Regulatory Affairs for authorization to begin contract negotiations. Please feel free to contact me at Jesse.Rodriguez@austintexas.gov if you need additional information. ____________________________________ ____________ Jesse Rodriguez, Interim Program Manager cc: Rondella Hawkins, Officer, Telecommunications & Regulatory Affairs Date 2 4/13/2022