> If you are taking public money and come back the following year wanting more, there should be a plan and data showing why you deserve money. Specifically the effectiveness of what you are trying to do.
Do you understand that you are talking about funding homeless shelters?
The job of a homeless shelter is to provide homeless people with temporary shelter instead of having them living on the streets. It is not in their job description or responsibilities or power to mitigate or eliminate the socio-economic problems that lead people to become homeless. That requires local government to put in place policies that addresses the root causes, such as ensuring housing is affordable, or those struggling with mental problems can receive help.
The expected outcome could be "allow/convince homeless people to sleep in the shelter rather than on the streets".
Not every non-profit needs to solve every problem, but most of them should work to solve al least one of them; having that problem clearly specified helps in distinguishing efficient use of public money from inefficient use.
>The job of a homeless shelter is to provide homeless people with temporary shelter instead of having them living on the streets.
The job is more than just warehousing people. Its making sure that shelters are clean, safe, sanitary and efficiently operated. Here in New York homeless shelters are filthy, understaffed, overcrowded and filled with violent predators, leaving many homeless to feel safer sleeping on a sidewalk. Like San Fransisco, the problem certainly isn't from lack of funding - its from corruption and mismanagement.
There is more than just "homeless shelters" when it comes to working with the homeless. Also, it is usually the job of counties (due to having the office of County Health) to spearhead handling the issues around homelessness. However, there are cities like Santa Cruz (the county seat, but the city government) that take it upon themselves to try and handle things without coordination at the county level.
Do you understand that you are talking about funding homeless shelters?
The job of a homeless shelter is to provide homeless people with temporary shelter instead of having them living on the streets. It is not in their job description or responsibilities or power to mitigate or eliminate the socio-economic problems that lead people to become homeless. That requires local government to put in place policies that addresses the root causes, such as ensuring housing is affordable, or those struggling with mental problems can receive help.