Overview:
In 2018 Richmond voters approved a measure that gives local youth nonprofits a small percentage of the city's general fund.
The fund was up for renewal and recipients were concerned that if it were to go before voters again, it might not pass, given the current economic climate.
Much to their relief, the Richmond City Council approved a 10-year renewal of the fund, worth $99 million.
Cheers erupted Tuesday night as the Richmond City Council unanimously voted to reauthorize the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth (RFCY), a move that sets aside $99 million for nonprofit programs until 2038.
The city council initially reviewed a number of potential fund amendments at its March 24 meeting but stopped short of making changes, which would have to be approved by voters.
The RFCY fund was established by the 2018 passage of Measures E and K (the Richmond Kids First Initiative), which created the Richmond Department of Children and Youth (RDCY). The city currently sets aside 3% of the general fund for services and programs targeting youths from birth to age 24.
The city’s charter for the fund says that 85% of the money is for grants for “community-based organizations” while capping city administrative costs at a maximum of 10%, with 5% earmarked for third-party, independent evaluators. The program is overseen by a 15-person board consisting of youths and adults appointed by the mayor and each council member.
The fund had to be renewed because its initial 10-year term (with a budget of about $48.2 million) was set to expire at the end of the 2028 fiscal year. In total, 46 organizations received $9.1 million during the 2021-2024 funding period.
Concerns linger regarding depth of spending audits
There have been some conversations in recent months about the rigor of the 2021-2024 RFCY audit conducted by WestEd, an independent third-party evaluator.
The evaluation was submitted as part of the city council’s Dec. 16, 2025 consent calendar and was pulled for discussion but that got postponed for weeks due to the debate over Mayor Eduardo Martinez’s censure.
At the Jan 20 council meeting, a number of council members, including Soheila Bana and Cesar Zepeda, requested more detailed information about conducting surveys to verify that funded programs were targeting Richmond youths and providing metrics to show goals were being met. Zepeda pointed out that only 565 surveys were collected out of a reported 58,000 “youth encounters.”
According to the WestEd report, youth participants were counted multiple times if “they participated in more than one funded program or attended their programs for more than a quarter.”
WestEd Senior Research Associate Nicole Strayer said that the next funding cycle, from 2025 to 2028, would have a number of new grant requirements that would “ensure that the majority of youth participants are able to complete and submit those surveys on an annual basis.”
On Tuesday dozens of Richmond youths associated with nonprofit programs including Ryse Center, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and YES Nature to Neighborhoods wore green shirts calling for officials to “Invest in youth” as they spoke about programs that their respective organizations have launched. (Many also attended the March 24 meeting.)
On March 24, RYSE co-founders Kanwarpal Dhaliwal and Kimberly Aceves-Iñiguez called for the fund to be renewed by the council to avoid another election.
“The fact that we are looking at reducing this from 3% to 1% is really disturbing,” Aceves-Iñiguez said, referring to one of the options the council was considering at the time. “I want to make clear that the legislation is intentionally designed to balance community voice, accountability and partnership with the city. It is a living structure to evolve over time. The pathway for reauthorization is very clear and the important questions being raised about priorities, evaluations, outcomes and funding amounts do not need to be resolved before reauthorization. Those decisions are designed to happen in the structure, the oversight board, the Department of Children and Youth through community informed planning, ongoing evaluation. The oversight board is connected to the city council.”
Dhaliwal strongly emphasized that it should be renewed.
“It is simply offensive that young people have to come here to protect what already belongs to them,” Dhaliwal told the council. “Now we are hearing it might be dismantled because you don’t have enough information? We have the information so you need to reauthorize. Those of us who run programs and organizations with young people know that when we plan something we make room to reflect, assess and adapt. We don’t stop the work while we evaluate it and evolve it. We keep it moving.”
Martinez on Tuesday night said the renewal conversation isn’t questioning the impact of youth programs funded by the RFCY but reflects the city’s financial responsibility to “provide proper oversight of voter-approved funds.”
“We are entrusted with upholding the will of the people by ensuring that the measure they supported is implemented as intended and continues to serve its original purpose,” Martinez said.
Martinez questioned whether Richmond Promise and the Richmond Library, which both received funding in 2021 and 2023, respectively, were eligible for it. Department of Children and Youth Administrative Chief Patrick Seals said that public agencies can apply for RFCY funding if they are working in collaboration with nonprofits.
When Martinez asked Seals which nonprofits were collaborating with those two entities, Seals said he would email that information to the council at a later time.
Richmondside reached out to Seals for further details but did not hear back by publication time.
After Martinez mentioned making amendments to clarify what he called “murky” language governing the fund, an action that would require voter approval, council member Doria Robinson expressed concern, asking acting City Attorney Shannon Moore if voters could approve an amendment only versus having to again approve the fund itself.
“I believe, if we were to take this item and bring it out to the voters at this time because it is asking for a reauthorization for a considerable amount of funds it may fail considering the environment we are in and the demands on people’s money, the (proposed transportation) sales tax that is coming up. I want to protect this work and protect the impact,” Robinson said.
“I think it depends on how you want to craft the initiative language but yes, I think you can have minor amendments to the charter language without asking the question up or down on the program itself,” Moore said.
Richmondside reached out to Moore for additional information but did not hear back by publication time.
