By Roger Jimenez, Interning Correspondent for The Apopka Voice
The City of Apopka’s 2025–2026 matching grant program is moving forward with the goal of creating a structured and transparent funding system for local schools and nonprofit organizations.
Designed to support initiatives benefiting youth and senior citizens, the program will provide grants ranging from $500 to $5,000, with a required dollar-for-dollar match from recipients. These matching contributions can consist of cash and/or in-kind goods and services, though contributions from city-related organizations or officials may not count toward the match.
Related: The vital role of investigative journalism in Apopka.
Eligible applicants include public or private schools and federally tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations that have been in operation for at least one year.
Projects must offer services or programming for youth, at-risk individuals, and senior citizens. A new requirement states that in-kind contributions can count for no more than 50% of the match, while there is no limit on cash contributions.
The grant program outlines a series of administrative and reporting requirements for recipients, including project guidelines, proposal submission guidelines, and a scoring criterion for the review panel to follow.
A five-member review panel, composed of community representatives nominated by elected officials, will evaluate the submitted proposals. Each member will serve a two-year term.
Commissioner Alexander Smith emphasized the importance of adding a second application window halfway through the fiscal year, noting that the initial 30-day submission window may be too limited for some organizations.
“My concern is only allowing 30 days for submissions, so I thought we should allow a second window, maybe halfway through the budget cycle, to allow for additional submissions,” he said.
Commissioner Nadia Anderson supported allowing grant funds to be used for background checks, particularly for programs working directly with vulnerable populations.
“I think that we should encourage and support background checks, especially if they’re working with our youth and senior citizens,” Anderson said.
She also requested changes to the point system used in evaluating applications, which previously gave strong preference to organizations with at least ten years of service.
Albert McKimmie — a longtime resident and president of the Scotty Foundation, an animal rehabilitation center in Apopka — raised concerns about the city’s level of engagement with grassroots nonprofits during public comment.
“We really need to look closely at how we can facilitate the non-profits locally, other than just for funding. I have been out there for 10 years. Have any of you come out there to see what we do in an official capacity? The answer is no… I’m not the only non-profit that feels like this,” McKimmie said.
Another resident raised concerns about the matching requirement, echoing sentiments previously shared by Anderson. However, Anderson noted a shift in her perspective.
“The idea behind the match is that we really want to have organizations that have skin in the game and are successful. We want to make sure we’re spending responsibly.”
Interim City Administrator Radley Williams expressed optimism about the program’s direction.
“I think it’s good that we’re now looking at a structured program to utilize and provide an equitable opportunity for our non-profits that are doing good in the community, and a function for them to operate,” Williams said.
The council agreed to adjust the criteria to make the scoring process more equitable and to include background checks as an allowable expense.
The program is expected to launch after the City Council nominates members to the grant review panel. The selection is scheduled to take place at the next City Council meeting on July 2nd.
