Community Enhancement Program

The Community Enhancement Program (CEP) is funded by a set percent of Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenues. The goal of the Community Enhancement Program is to stimulate tourism, promote the economy, create jobs, and/or a better quality of life. Entities and activities currently funded include cultural activities, museums, visitor and convention bureaus, economic development councils, and other similar institutions/organizations, including County programs and projects, which promote and generate tourism and/or economic development within San Diego County.

The following links are provided to assist in completing your application:

To submit your grant application, please complete all of the required fields and attachments.

STEP ONE

COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM APPLICATION

Please download the CEP application, fill it out, and then return here for the supplemental questions. Please note: You will need to download the application and open it in Adobe Reader 8 or higher to view the application.

CEP APPLICATION

STEP TWO

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS

Organization Name

Have you received Community Enhancement before from District 2? If so, how much and what was it used for?

As a reminder, Board policy states that the County’s contribution may not exceed 50% of your annual revenue for your organization. It is the Supervisor’s policy that’s his District 2 grants will be allocated on a one-to-one match (with a maximum) from the city your organization resides in.

Please describe your other funding sources. If you are in Santee, Poway, El Cajon or the City of San Diego, have you reached out to your respective jurisdiction for funding?

FYI: If awarded CEP funds, the Office of Financial Planning may be disbursing your funding allocation quarterly throughout the year.

Please share your independent fundraising plan for your organization.

What are your specific milestones and goals that are set for your organization and how will you accomplish them?

STEP THREE

UPLOAD DOCUMENTATION & SUBMIT

Completed & Signed Application

Please provide 2 letters of recommendations from community leaders that are not a part of your organization (Examples: an elected official, president of an organization, Executive Director, Business owner, etc.)

Letter of Recommendation #1

Letter of Recommendation #2

Additional Documentation

Resolution of the Board of Directors

IRS Letter (showing tax exempt status)

IRS Form 990 (pages 1-8) or IRS Form 990 EZ (pages 1-3)

Screen Shot of California Attorney General Charitable Registration Verification Tool showing CURRENT or EXEMPT status

Screen Shot of the Secretary of State Business Search Website showing ACTIVE status (not required for public agencies)

Copies of pertinent parts of governing documents identifying persons authorized to sign a CEP grant agreement

Cover Letter (Required only if submitting to more than one Supervisorial District)

If you are having technical difficulties with your submission, you may alternatively email the required documents and supplemental question responses to District2Grants@sdcounty.ca.gov. Please ensure you have tried submitting through this form first.

Letter from Supervisor Anderson

Dear Applicant,

Organizations like yours are the life blood of our communities. Your work stimulates tourism, promotes the economy, create jobs, and enhances quality of life.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting closure orders continue to significantly impact restaurants, attractions, hotels, and small businesses throughout our region. Over 100,000 residents have lost their jobs since early 2020. Funds for the County of San Diego’s Community Enhancement Program, generated through Transient Occupancy Tax receipts, have also been adversely affected by the COVID-related shutdowns.

County staff has informed me that each Supervisorial district will have its CE funds reduced by over $200,000 in FY 2021-2022.

No more than 50% of CE Funds should be used to fund an organization.

As you may be aware, the Board of Supervisor’s policy is that a recipient of CE grants should not fund its budget using more than 50% of CE grants.

While we acknowledge COVID has impacted the finances of many organization like yours, we would request that any grant applications you submit consider both of these constraints.

Although I look forward to receiving your grant application, I wanted to share this information so that you may plan your budgets accordingly and investigate other funding partners that may be able to support you in your activities. Please note that the new process will require answering the supplementary questions and submitting your application on this page.

Thank you for your understanding. If I can be of any additional assistance or if you have application questions regarding the application process, feel free to contact me or Roarke Shanley at (858) 276-8919 or Roarke.Shanley@sdcounty.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Supervisor Joel Anderson
Second District