Skip to main content
Office of the County Executive
Office of the County Executive

Community Project Funding

The United States Senate and House of Representatives each has a Committee on Appropriations that is responsible for passing appropriation bills to provide budget authority for spending federal funds.

The Committees on Appropriations can solicit earmark requests (known as congressionally directed spending requests in the Senate, or as community project funding requests in the House). These are requests by Members of Congress that federal funds be set aside for specific projects for their state or community. There is no guarantee that funding will be granted. Typically, Members have a maximum number of Community Project Funding (CPF) requests they may submit.

For Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025), projects were restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding. Combined earmarks are capped at 0.5% of all discretionary spending and eligible accounts were restricted to specific programs.

FY2025 Guidance for Community Project Funding

For FY2025, the Santa Clara County delegation submitted the following project funding requests that will impact County operations:

ProjectFunding Request                  Submitted to Appropriations Committee for funding by:Description
Cottle and Lester Historic Ranch Conservation at Martial Cottle Park$8 millionRep. PanettaMartial Cottle Park provides a unique experience featuring historical and agricultural programming and sees over 380,000 guests each year. This funding request would support the Phase I Cottle and Lester Historic Ranch site for improvements and repairs, a new shade structure for an outdoor classroom, etc.
Improving Food Security Initiative$3 millionRep. KhannaFood insecurity is when people don’t have enough to eat and don’t know where their next meal will come from. Even in Silicon Valley, food insecurity persists. This funding would be used to distribute to charitable food providers for the acquisition and installation of energy efficient equipment necessary for safe food storage and distribution to food insecure residents of Santa Clara County.
Restoration of Emergency Shelter and Transitional Housing for Homeless Veterans$2 millionRep. KhannaThe County of Santa Clara acquired a privately-owned property in November 2023 to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportive services for homeless and unstably housed veterans. This funding would be used for necessary repairs and upgrades.
Small Business Resource Center at the Vietnamese American Service Center$2 millionSenator PadillaIn 2023, the County of Santa Clara conducted a disparity study to assess the underutilization of minority-, women-, LGBT-, and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises relative to their availability in the County’s geographic marketplace. The analysis demonstrated substantial underutilization of nearly all business categories and demographics. This funding would be used to develop and launch the County’s first Small Business Resource Center.