Explanation
This ordinance authorizes the City Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with Femergy, a non-profit corporation, in support of the GHRO Your Future program.
GHRO Your Future is a workforce, life-skills development, and mentoring program for girls ages 12-18 in Central Ohio. Femergy’s client population is primarily girls of color (89%) from economically disadvantaged families (87%). Data Femergy collected in 2021 shows that 82% of participants reside in Columbus, and over 60% of participants came from QCTs in the greater Columbus area.
Each participant is matched with a community mentor for monthly check-ins to discuss personal goals, plan for career and academic ambitions, and receive social-emotional support. Participants engage in virtual and in-person workshops in the areas of academic support, career exploration, high school/workforce readiness, leadership development, service-learning, and more. GHRO has operated in various school districts for targeted programming, in addition to community-based programming where additional girls connect with mentors and career coaches at community locations like The Ohio State University, Columbus State Community College, COSI, etc.
Femergy anticipates 35% growth across the categories of Confidence, Communication, and Leadership, and 25% growth in Academic Performance and Workforce Readiness. Femergy’s goals are designed around supporting girls’ present needs while preparing them for a future filled with possibilities and economic and community impact.
Fiscal Impact: Funding is available within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund.
Emergency action is requested in order to provide Femergy with the resources necessary to immediately expand organizational capacity.
Title
To authorize the City Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with Femergy in support of the GHRO Your Future program; to authorize an appropriation and expenditure within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund; and to declare an emergency. ($75,000.00)
Body
WHEREAS, GHRO Your Future is a workforce, life-skills development, and mentoring program for girls ages 12-18 in Central Ohio; and
WHEREAS, each participant is matched with a community mentor for monthly check-ins to discuss personal goals, plan for career and academic ambitions, and receive social-emotional support; and
WHEREAS, GHRO has operated in various school districts for targeted programming, in addition to community-based programming where additional girls connect with mentors and career coaches; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Clerk's Office in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with Femergy in order to provide Femergy with the resources necessary to expand capacity to serve additional youth residents; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the City Clerk is hereby authorized to enter into a grant agreement with Femergy, a non-profit corporation, in support of the GHRO Your Future program.
SECTION 2. That the Auditor is hereby authorized and directed to appropriate $75,000.00 within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund, fund 1000,subfund 100018, to Columbus City Council in 03-Services, per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 3. That per the action authorized in Section 1 of this ordinance, the expenditure of $75,000.00 within the Neighborhood Initiatives subfund is hereby authorized per the accounting codes in the attachment to this ordinance.
SECTION 4. That the City Auditor is authorized to make any accounting changes to revise the funding source for all contracts or contract modifications associated with this ordinance.
SECTION 5. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this Ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.