Editor’s Note: Sunshine Request makes no claim as to the veracity of any statements or information contained in any of the requests, or public records, we receive.
Editor’s Note 01/16/25: The submission above has been marked as “Completed”. As written it is unclear what specific records the sender would like to receive.
Yesterday (01/15) we were recipients of an email newsletter sent out by Explore Asheville announcing the following:
“This week, Explore Asheville distributed $100,000 in essential recovery grants to 10 small, independent restaurants in Buncombe County. This funding was raised through 13 curated dinners organized by more than 20 esteemed New Orleans chefs as part of the Cooks for Carolina initiative, dedicated to supporting local restaurants impacted by Hurricane Helene.
The dinner series, which took place last November and December across the Crescent City, was organized to provide crucial financial assistance to small, independent restaurants in Asheville and Buncombe County. All dinner proceeds were directed to the Always Asheville Fund, which Explore Asheville established in the wake of Hurricane Helene to help businesses reopen and retain their employees.”
In regard to the following request: “I’d like to see all of the information for the businesses that applied for this fund and were given grants for this fund.” It is not clear what records the sender is hoping to receive, or what “all of the information” means. Would you like copies of all applications that were submitted for the Always Asheville Fund? Or, would you only like copies of applications that were submitted by the parties who were ultimately awarded funds?
Clarifying this info will help to narrow the scope of the request, and will also reduce the amount of time it takes the Disclosing Agency (as well as our team) to process the request. Please feel free to revise and submit a new request through our website. Please clearly indicate any specific details, subject, message, dates, record types, City / County / State, etc. about the exact public records that are being requested.
Sunshine Request will not fulfill the following types of requests:
☀️ Requests that are incomplete, non-specific, or vague.
While we do proofread requests we receive for general spelling and clarity, we may choose not to fulfill the request if it is incomplete, or it is unclear what specific information the requester hopes to receive. In this case, the sender may rewrite and resubmit the request.
It’s the requester’s responsibility to write the request in a manner that clearly specifies a record that is being requested, and to what government entity it should be sent.
☀️ Please be specific:
It is important that what you are requesting is specific and reasonable, and is an actionable records request. Please specify the exact type of records you’d like to receive, rather than any “possible” or “potential” info that could be searched. Remember that the larger your request, the more time it usually takes to fulfill. Specificity will often help reduce the amount of time needed to process the request.
It is important that a request has a clearly written and complete Subject and Message, and also specifies the Government Entity (or entities), City and/or County, and State to which the request should be sent. If applicable, please also include any responsive timelines for the info that should be requested.
While we do proofread requests we receive for general spelling and clarity, we may choose not to fulfill the request if it is incomplete, or it is unclear what specific info the requester hopes to receive, or if it violates our policies.
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