190386

The City of Portland ordains:

Section 1.  The Council finds:

1. Together with Multnomah County’s Emergency Operations Center, the City’s Emergency Coordination Center created a Joint Volunteer Information Center (JVIC) in March 2020.
    
2. The Joint Volunteer Information Center program provides direct support to over 70 community-based organizations (CBOs) utilizing a community advocate model.
    
3. The Joint Volunteer Information Center prioritizes the distribution of supplies to organizations in service to communities most impacted by emergencies, which include Black and Indigenous communities, communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, people with disabilities and underlying conditions, and people with intersectional experiences of oppression.
    
4. The supplies are distributed using an innovative model, which pairs small and medium-sized community-based organizations (CBOs) with a designated city staff advocate.  The advocate communicates with the CBO weekly to learn about their community needs and challenges, provide information and referrals resources, and take and fill orders for supplies. 
    
5. Providing direct sponsorship grants to CBOs will have a larger impact to the community and the participating CBOs than buying supplies directly. The funds can help to strengthen CBOs’ capacity to provide emergency relief to the community during emergencies. Additionally, CBOs will be able to buy culturally-specific and local products (reinvesting in locally-owned BIPOC community businesses).
    
6. The JVIC program has demonstrated that a track record of working with the City as a vendor increases CBOs' visibility and credibility with other funders.
    
7. Due to the urgent and immediate need to disburse relief funds, the Council finds it necessary to delegate sponsorship authority to the Emergency Coordination Center Manager.  In addition, the City finds it reasonable and appropriate under these circumstances to forego any competitive process for awarding sponsorship grants.

NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:
 

1. The Emergency Coordination Center Manager is authorized to execute sponsorship grants to Community Based Organizations in an amount not to exceed $10,000 per grant during City of Portland declared emergencies from the Emergency Coordination Center budget.
    
2. For sponsorship grants executed by the Emergency Coordination Manager, the competitive application process requirements of FIN 2.04 are waived.
    
3. The Emergency Coordination Center Manager is authorized to amend and terminate sponsorships to Community Based Organizations during City of Portland declared emergencies.

Section 2.  The Council declares that an emergency exists in order to avoid unnecessary delay in providing assistance to the community; therefore, this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by Council.