CLEVELAND — The city of Cleveland and the Cleveland Foundation announced that 29 organizations and programs across Northeast Ohio will receive grants from the Cleveland Neighborhood Safety Fund in order to help curb violence.
The funding ranges from $7,500 to $60,000 for programs in Northeast Ohio, including mental health support, mentoring, athletics, workforce development, multigenerational programming, martial arts, conflict mediation, gang violence intervention, arts, gardening, youth leadership, suicide prevention and care response for victims of violence.
“We are pleased to get this first round of funding out into the community to help the grassroots organizations doing this important work build both capacity and connections,” said Mayor Justin M. Bibb. “No one organization or entity can solve these problems alone. Our theory of change involves supporting the growth of this entire sector, identifying the gaps that exist and promoting multi-agency collaboration to better serve Clevelanders.”
The Cleveland Neighborhood Safety Fund was launched earlier this year with the American Rescue Plan Act money from the City of Cleveland in order to help reduce violent crime.
The goal of the fund is to "provide ongoing support and create a connected ecosystem of programs and organizations that target the root causes of violence, particularly among young people."
“These grants illustrate a careful consideration of a continuum of activities that are all critical to violence prevention,” said Cleveland City Council President Blaine A. Griffin. “I commend the advisory committee for their thoughtful recommendations and am encouraged to see where we go from here.”
The Cleveland Foundation says that during the first round of funding, they received 150 applications, totaling $13 million in requests.
“During this first round of funding applications we quickly realized how many groups and individuals have been working tirelessly behind the scenes on violence prevention and related issues in our neighborhoods,” said Yvonne Pointer, a community activist and member of the fund’s advisory committee. “This process allowed us to learn about and lift up people who have been dedicated to this work for a very long time.”
In addition to the funding, all grant applicants will have the opportunity to take part in learning opportunities to raise awareness of the diverse work happening across the Cleveland area.
The Neighborhood Safety Fund advisory committee chose the grantees based on purpose, budget, geography, program areas, clarity of need, population served, sustainability, connection of mission to community need and ability to leverage collaboration to increase impact.
The full list of first-round grantees can be viewed below:
- A Vision of Change ($40,000)
- Agape Renaissance Center ($7,500)
- Balance Point Studios ($15,000)
- Beat the Streets ($45,000)
- Building Hope in the City ($50,000)
- Elements of Internal Movement Eternal Pull Inc. ($15,000)
- Embody Youth Academy ($35,000)
- Fathers Against Violence ($45,000)
- Ghetto Therapy ($45,000)
- God’s Vision Foundation ($15,000)
- Greater Cleveland Interfaith Alliance ($60,000)
- Icons ($45,000)
- Impact Youth Basketball ($40,000)
- Jarvis Gibson Foundation ($25,000)
- Jalen’s HOPE ($27,000)
- M-Pac Cleveland ($20,000)
- Sinai Ministries ($45,500)
- New Era ($25,000)
- New Sardis Primitive Baptist Church ($37,000)
- Project Lift Behavioral Health Services ($37,000)
- Reading Ramm ($20,000)
- Refugee Response ($20,000)
- Renounce Denounce ($45,000)
- Sankofa Circle ($35,000)
- Shiloh Baptist Church ($45,000)
- Shooting Without Bullets ($45,000)
- Special Deeds ($21,000)
- Spread the Love Foundation ($50,000)
- Together We Rise ($45,000)
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