Supervisor absence delayed funding for community events

Many nonprofits in San Diego County’s District 1 were left in limbo for months and unable to apply for key county grants last fall due to a vacancy in the Board of Supervisors seat, delaying access to critical funding for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

The disruption stemmed from the sudden resignation of San Diego County Board Chair Nora Vargas, who announced in late December 2024 that she would step down at the end of her first term, just weeks after winning reelection.

“Due to personal safety and security reasons, I will not take the oath of office for a second term,” Vargas said in a written statement at the time.
The vacancy left District 1 without an elected representative to sponsor applications for County Community Enhancement and Neighborhood Reinvestment Program grants. As a result, nonprofit organizations in the district were unable to apply for funding for months since last fall.

Bonitafest, South County’s longest-running community parade and performing arts festival, was among the organizations whose primary source of funding was hindered.

“It’s been absolutely crucial for the event’s operations,” said Sofia Petroulias, general chairwoman of Bonitafest 2025. “It’s a super fundamental event for the community. I think it does an amazing job bringing different people from different backgrounds together, so if we don’t have that county funding, we’re going to have to make cuts to the program.”

Nicolette Monique Luna, who serves as Bonitafest’s fund raising chair and parade chair, said the delay in county funds this year created a time crunch and made it harder to plan.

“It’s just been a big issue with time because we do this every year and it takes a lot of money to finance Bonitafest,” Luna said. “We’ve gotten some sponsors but it’s really difficult to accumulate any that would give us the finances that we used to get from the district.”

Despite the financial constraints, Luna said the community has helped the event stay afloat.

“It’s a family event, we want the kids to really be attracted to it to continue this tradition and we’ve had to minimize what we can bring in, but we’ve been able to persevere through because of community support,” she said.

Jeff Bettger, a Bonitafest committee member, also said the setback of anticipated county funding altered the event’s planning dramatically.

“When you are used to having a certain funding and then you don’t have it, it changes completely what the planned event was,” he said.

For the 2024–2025 fiscal year, Bonitafest received $15,000 from the county’s Community Enhancement program and had anticipated a similar amount for 2025–2026. Organizers are now working to raise funds through community donations and business sponsorships to support Bonitafest 2025, which will mark the event’s 53rd anniversary.

The budget covers two main events: the Parade and Performing Arts Festival, estimated at $15,000, and the Bonitafest Melodrama, at about $20,000. Festival expenses include marketing, light pole banners, insurance, VIP accommodations, logistics, art and design work and printed materials. The Melodrama’s costs include theater rental, musical staff, costumes, marketing, printing, set construction, sound and lighting equipment rentals and other production needs.

Bettger said preserving the event’s legacy is critical.

“There’s so much change in the South Bay – which is great, lots of new – but it’s critical we don’t lose the old,” he said. “When we talk to people, especially from Bonita, about some of their best memories growing up, they will always mention something about Bonitafest.”

Other District 1 nonprofits reported similar impacts. At the Sherman Heights Community Center, which serves Latino communities through cultural and educational programs, executive director Daniela Kelly said the long absence of grant availability created uncertainty for community work.

“We’ve been lucky enough to have received support in the past through the Community Enhancement Program as well as other county grants,” Kelly said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty, but we’re looking forward to applying for that grant and others that come our way as soon as they’re available again.”

Despite the disruption, Kelly said her organization remains committed to the work ahead.

“We’re just navigating it and really trying to remain hopeful,” she said.

“We’re looking forward to working with our incoming Supervisor Paloma Aguirre to continue to serve our communities in District 1.”

Dennis Schulz, president of the Chula Vista Veterans Home Support Foundation, said the vacancy created a ripple effect that impacted their ability to secure larger-scale funding.

“The Supervisor vacancy definitely – I won’t say it had a direct effect – but it had a ripple to us,” Schulz said. “When it was gapped, that rep wasn’t there and it was kind of an empty seat on the board. We just found workarounds, but the county grants were bigger money that really helped the home with some major upgrades.”

Schulz added that he is optimistic about rebuilding the relationship with the incoming supervisor.

“We’re looking to resurrect,” he said. “A renewed relationship with the district supervisor will only be a good thing.”

District 1’s new Supervisor, Aguirre, was sworn in a couple of weeks ago.

In a written statement to The Star-News, Aguirre addressed concerns about the funding gap that occurred during the vacancy.

“The prior vacancy in the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for District 1 understandably raised some concerns about access to critical funding for local nonprofits to apply to County Community Enhancement and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund,” Aguirre said. “We want to clarify that all available grant funds from last fiscal year were fully allocated by December 2024, prior to the vacancy.”

Aguirre also emphasized that new funds have been allocated for the current fiscal year.

“For the fiscal year of 2025-2026, there is $1,269,653 allocated for the Community Enhancement grant, and $2 million for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund,” she said. “We recognize how important these funding streams are to local nonprofits and community organizations throughout the district, and our priority is of course to support their incredible work.”