COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ENCOURAGED TO APPLY FOR GRANT

Past recipients of the Chicago Fund include Drive our Future, which taught young people from Auburn Gresham and Chatham how to restore cars. Photo courtesy of Nerdy Media
Past recipients of the Chicago Fund include Drive our Future, which taught young people from Auburn Gresham and Chatham how to restore cars. Photo courtesy of Nerdy Media

Community organizations encouraged to apply for grant

BY TIA CAROL JONES

The Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities (PSPC) and its Chicago Fund will give $1 million in grants to organizations with gun violence prevention strategies focused on the summer and early fall months.

Organizations will receive between $1,000-$10,000. The deadline for grant applications is Friday, Feb. 14, and the grants will be distributed on Wednesday, April 22.

The Chicago Fund is in its fifth year. It is one of four key strategies of the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, which is a collaboration of more than 40 Chicago foundations that seek to respond to violence and public safety.

Deborah Bennett is senior program officer for the Polk Bros. Foundation, which is a member of the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities. Bennett said the ideal recipient for the funding is an organization with a budget less than $500,000 and a 501(c)3. If the organization doesn’t have a 501(c)3, it can have a fiscal sponsor. If the organization doesn’t have a fiscal sponsor, PSPC will help the organization find one.

“We want to support these small grassroots organizations,” she said. “They are engaging in programs and activities promoting peace in summer and early fall.”

Bennett said the number of organizations that receive the grant money depends on how many organizations apply. Last year, 307 organizations applied and 181 received a portion of the $1.1 million.

“Every year, the number of organizations has increased,” she said. “We want to at least grant out $1 million this year.”

Bennett said the average grant size is $6,100. The amount of money each organization receives depends on the scope of the activities the organization proposes. Activities can range from one-day events to ongoing activities from summer through early fall.

“There are a variety of things, activities for families, back-to-school rallies, peach marches, music festivals, arts programming, violence de-escalation programs and activities that foster positive interaction with police,” Bennett said.

There will be 21 communities on the South and West sides involved. They include Austin, Humboldt Park, Lower West Side, Back of the Yards, North Lawndale, Auburn-Gresham, Chatham, East Garfield Park, Greater Grand Crossing, West Pullman and Woodlawn.

“The 21 communities were chosen based on the levels of gun violence in the past five years,” Bennett said.

Grassroots organizations and community-based organizations are an integral part of building safe neighborhoods.

“Community-based organizations play an underappreciated but significant role in reducing gun violence,” Bennett said. “Neighborhoods where elders in the community know the younger people, those are safer communities.”

Bennett said the reason why the Chicago Fund has been able to continue for five years is because the Chicago philanthropic community is committed to doing its part.

“There’s an appreciation for the role grassroots organizations play in gun violence prevention,” she said. “We should be supporting the ideas of these organizations.”

Bennett said PSPC has seen an overwhelming response to the Chicago Fund.

“The overwhelming response we’ve seen has really changed the narrative that communities of color are apathetic to the violence that plagues their communities,” she said. “The overall goal of the Partnership is to do its part to reduce gun violence; to strengthen communities to build trust, to build stronger community bonds.”

To apply for the grant, visit https://bit.ly/2RG9wcv. To read the RFP, visit https://bit.ly/36edUVv.

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