DAS commissioners approve arts pilot, Stepping Stone contract modification and CODB add-backs

The Department of Disability and Aging Services Commission unanimously approved three grant-related actions on Jan. 10, authorizing a new arts pilot and modifications to existing nonprofit grants.

The commission authorized a grant to Elder Givers (doing business as Art with Elders) to run a two-and-a-half-year creative-arts pilot for older adults and adults with disabilities. The staff recommendation, approved by the commission, authorized $250,000 in pilot funding plus a 10% contingency, for a not-to-exceed amount of $275,000. Michael Zogg, who presented the item, described classes at four city locations plus an online option, supplied art materials, and planned exhibitions to feature participant work.

The commission also approved a modification to an existing Stepping Stone grant that supports LGBTQ+ community services and higher-learning classes. Sarah Chan said the modification adds funding to cover half of the current fiscal year and the remainder of the grant term, and includes a 3.75% cost-of-doing-business (CODB) adjustment to help nonprofits cover rising costs. The staff memorandum listed an additional amount in the agenda (rendered in the transcript as $185,000.962) and a revised contract ceiling listed in the agenda as $1,326,797; staff told commissioners the higher-learning budget is roughly $45,000 per year and that the modification is intended to stabilize ongoing classes taught in partnership with City College.

Finally, Rosio Duenas presented an item to add the FY23-24 CODB adjustment (3.75%) to selected nonprofit grant agreements that lacked sufficient contingency. She said most agreements had contingency to absorb the increase; for grants that did not, staff identified those line items in table 1 of the memorandum and sought commission approval to process formal modifications. Duenas cited an additional amount shown in the agenda as $191,963 for the listed agreements; staff said the exact modification amounts and the full list of affected grants are in the docket.

All three items passed on unanimous roll-call votes with no public callers. Staff said contracts and grants units will process the formal documents and return compliance updates as part of regular reporting to the commission.

The commission did not debate the policy merits of the pilot in depth, but several commissioners voiced support for the geographic distribution of Art with Elders program sites and for preserving CBO capacity while the department addresses budget targets.