In 1997, Fairfax County, Virginia developed
and implemented a new competitive grant process, the Community
Funding Pool, for funding human services offered through non-profit
agencies. The FY 2000 funding year (which began on July 1, 1999)
will be the third successful year of implementation of this
community-driven process. The FY 2000 funding year ushered
in significant changes and innovations to the process, most
notably the consolidation of the original Community Funding
Pool process with the County's Consolidated Plan / CDBG funding
process.
This article describes the inception and initial implementation
of the Community Funding Pool, culminating in the consolidation
and achievements of the recently completed planning cycle (Summer
1998 to April 1999) for the FY2000 Funding Year.