Thanks for this proposal. I am in favor of expanding the grants program using additional funds, but just want to clarify my understanding of the funding being requested for committee oversight. First, I will say that committee members should definitely be compensated for their time in reviewing and soliciting grant applications. I also think we need to work to keep such costs controlled and in alignment with the magnitude of funds being disbursed.
Some quick math:
I see 6 committee members, so 6 members * 30 hours * $150/hr = $27K per week if all used full allotment.
$27K * 25 weeks (~6 months) = $675K
This leaves $7.625M for grants, so $675K is about 8.8% overhead expenses for managing these funds.
Have I understood the proposal correctly, or are there any additional expenses for managing the grants program which may not be captured here?