The Cleveland Foundation is accepting applications for the second round of grants from the Cleveland Neighborhood Safety Fund.
Donor Name: Cleveland Foundation
State: Ohio
City: Cleveland
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/10/2024
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Neighborhood Safety Fund is currently guided by a nine-person advisory committee that includes representation from Cleveland City Council, Cleveland Administration, community leaders, and community members impacted by community violence. Through a public Request for Proposals (RFP) process, this group recommends grant funding to nonprofits and/or government agencies working to enhance the safety of all Clevelanders. The Cleveland Foundation’s role is to establish, manage, and implement the NSF.
This Request for Proposal (RFP) aims to appropriate up to $1M to community violence intervention and prevention partners (CVIP) focused on the summer months of June, July, and August 2024 leading into the school year. Proposals should support organizational capacity building (additional staff, program expansion, increased outreach, etc.) for programs and/or services in targeted neighborhoods working with the targeted populations. Strong proposals identify “preventative” human service supports (mental health, income, housing, workforce development, etc.).
Scope of Services and Objectives 
The CNSF is taking a data-driven approach to implementing community-centered violence intervention and prevention strategies that create safe and healthy neighborhoods. Community approaches to violence intervention and prevention start with people at the center of serious violence and extend outwards to their loved ones and the broader community. The CNSF aims to build the capacity of organizations and bring together a network of community providers and system partners to support people as they move toward safety, healing, and growth. The network relies on skilled workers with a personal understanding of trauma, who meet people where they are and form strong relationships. It is also a mutual commitment from partners of all sizes to engage in a violence prevention ecosystem that honors the interdependency of interventions and organizations to reduce violence. Successful applicants will be expected to participate in coordinated efforts with other funded agencies and key system partners, participate in training and technical assistance to build capacity and ensure fidelity to best practice service models, and participate in evaluation activities to inform continuous improvement and learning in the network.
Program/Services Areas 
This RFP will provide funding for the programs/services listed below. You can only include one program/service in your proposal. An organization can submit multiple proposals if the proposals are substantially different for different programs/services. Substantially different is defined as having a different program design, staffing, program location, or priority population receiving services. In other words, applicants may not submit the same proposal for various programs/services.

Violence Interruption and Reduction Services

CNSF seeks programs that use credible messengers to prevent and reduce gun violence in the City of Cleveland, Ohio. They are looking for organizations with the deployment of proactive strategies aimed at fostering meaningful relationships in Cleveland neighborhoods experiencing the most violence, steering those involved in violence (or at a high risk of violence) into alternative positive choices, mediating neighborhood conflicts, and responding to neighborhood crises related to violence.

Youth Diversion/Proactive Mentoring 

The purpose of diversion programs is to redirect youth from the justice system through programming, supervision, and support. This strategy area aims to help youth move away from deeper involvement in violence and the juvenile justice system through coordinated interventions. Funding is available for programs that divert youth from arrest or prosecution and help them transition back to school and community after confinement.

Violence Prevention 

Programs that intervene directly with individuals experiencing violence in an effort to disrupt the cycle of violence. That includes large-scale programs already considered national models and smaller grassroots efforts with a proven track record of community impact.

Required Qualifications and Certifications 

Organizations must have experience providing services in violence interruption and reduction, youth diversion and mentoring, or violence prevention programming.
Organizations shall have experience working in partnership and maintaining fundamental relationships with other nonprofits, resident leaders, faith leaders, youth, justice partners, city agencies, and/or neighborhood-based community institutions to meet the target population’s service referral needs.
Programming located in the community served is preferred or accessibility is required through reliable transportation.
For participant referral services, organizations should demonstrate close links to health, mental health, vocational, educational, justice partners, and other social services, including but not limited to food, housing, and employment services.

For more information, visit Cleveland Foundation.