City Council special event sponsorship

The Special Event Sponsorship Program provides the Mayor and Council the opportunity to allocate sponsorship funding up to $10,000 per fiscal year (contingent upon annual City budget approval) for special events conducted by qualified nonprofit organizations or City-recognized neighborhood associations. To qualify, organizations must be incorporated as a nonprofit charitable organization that is tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. View the Special Event Sponsorship Policy for complete guidelines and criteria, or check out the step-by-step guide below.

Once you've determined that you meet our eligibility criteria (this means that you're applying as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, that you're requesting sponsorship for a special event or activity that's taking place in Santa Ana or that directly benefits Santa Ana residents, and that you meet all other eligibility criteria specified in our policy), fill out the one-page Donation Request Form.

How to fill out the Donation Request Form

Here's a section-by-section overview of the form. Please follow these instructions to make sure your application is good to go!

Contact information

Include your full name, your title as it relates to the nonprofit organization that you are submitting the Donation Request Form on behalf of, the address of the nonprofit organization, your organization's phone number, and your official email associated with the nonprofit organization.

Organization information

To follow up with the section above, please clearly write the full name of your nonprofit organization. Indicate whether or not your organization is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Note: if you are not a 501(c) nonprofit organization, you are not eligible to apply for sponsorship.

This policy allows neighborhood associations (whether you're a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization or not) to apply for City services credit to cover things like reservation fees, staff time associated with City services, etc.

Donation request

• City services credit vs. Direct payment (use one, not both).
  • City services credit: this means a credit that is used towards paying a fee, invoice, etc. from the City of Santa Ana. For example, if your organization is hosting a special event at a City park and we charge you a reservation fee, and if you would like us to sponsor your event by covering your reservation fee, indicate the fee amount next to "City Services Credit Amount Requested".
  • Direct payment: this means cash. If you'd like to receive a one-time cash donation to be used to sponsor your special event, indicate your desired sponsorship amount. Ideally, this amount should tie into a specific cost associated with your event--and you might want to keep in mind that each councilmember only has $10,000 for sponsorships for all nonprofit organizations and neighborhoods in their wards).
• Date needed: let us know by when you'd like to receive your sponsorship (either a credit for City services that we process internally, or a direct payment that we send you via check).
• Mayor/Councilmember: select the member of our City Council you are requesting sponsorship from. It's a good idea to consider whether the Mayor/Councilmember is aware of your event, if the event takes place in their ward, or something else that might make a particular councilmember a good match for sponsorship.
• Event date, Event time, and Event location: Let us know when and where your special event is taking place. If your event is an ongoing program, you can indicate so in these fields (and perhaps include a date range of your ongoing program if you have one).
• Description of event/purpose: Briefly let us know why you're hosting a special event. What's the goal of your event and what's your intended outcome?
• Community benefit: Let us know how Santa Ana residents might benefit from it. (Hint: you might want to take a look at our Strategic Plan to see if your event aligns with our goals and strategies.)
• Make sure to sign and date your application, and you're done!

• You can complete the electronic form
• You can download the form and email it to us at donationrequest@santa-ana.org.
• If you don't have email, you can send it to us in the mail. Here's our address:

 City of Santa Ana - City Manager's Office
20 Civic Center Plaza - M-31
Santa Ana, CA 92701

If your request is approved, we'll email you to let you know. If it's not approved, you may want to consider other sponsorship opportunities.

If your request is approved, we'll need you to fill out two quick forms: a one-page Vendor Information Form and a one-page W-9 (which you should already have, but we provide a new, blank one just in case). Fill them out and email them to donationrequest@santa-ana.org.

Congratulations! You'll either receive an email from us letting you know that we are going to process a credit for City services to cover a portion (or all, depending on your application) of your fees that are due to the City of Santa Ana, or that we're mailing you a check.

• About City services credit: If an additional balance is remaining, you are responsible for paying those fees by their due date.
• About a direct payment: It takes us about two weeks to send a check in the mail. We'll email you to let you know when that process begins--and expect a check in the mail within two weeks' time.