The grant requests will be a part of the 2017 budget, which will also be presented next month.
Though city officials aren’t certain why only three organizations requested funds this year, City Manager Mark Wendling said “some of those organizations really only like to ask (for grant funding) when they really have a worthy project, so they do not like to come every single year.”
But the perennial applicants that request funds are “all quality organizations and they provide some level of quality of life” to the city, he said.
The Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony, a professional Butler County orchestra, requested $10,000 for its annual summer concert at Village Green.
“We try to keep the quality as high as possible and most of our concerts are done free-of-charge to make it extremely accessible to the general public,” said Paul John Stanbery, musical director and conductor.
The orchestra also gives back to the community with scholarships to young musicians, and works with a 70-piece youth orchestra that meets weekly.
The Fairfield Community Foundation is requesting $10,000 for its operations.
“We’re a true reflection of our community,” said Diane Ruder, president of the Fairfield Community Foundation.
The foundation awarded this past year nearly $260,000 in grants and scholarships, and would not have awarded any of that if it wasn’t those who invested in the organizations mission in greater Fairfield, Ruder said.
Partners in Prime, which is based in Hamilton, has a Fairfield location. The $8,000 it requests will go to the Fairfield activities, said Amy Wylie, vice president of Community-Based Services.
“I was very cautious after the discussion that happened after last year’s grants, and I want to be clear why we ask for funding as a non-profit and what we do with those dollars,” said Wylie.
For every dollar the city can provide Partners in Prime, they can leverage that to earn $6 in federal funds, she said.
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