Harrisburg, PA — As part of the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s commitment to making communities safer, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) today invited organizations to apply for $56.5 million in state grant funding under PCCD’s existing VIP grant program and the first-ever Building Opportunity through Out of School Time (BOOST) program, which will aim to reduce community violence by providing more after school opportunities for young people.
The 2024-25 bipartisan budget signed into law by Governor Shapiro delivered a 40 percent increase in state funding for violence prevention and intervention initiatives. Those investments include $11.5 million to create the BOOST program, $10 million in funding for the successful Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention program – doubling state investment in the program – and a $5 million increase for the VIP grant program.
“Kids should be able to focus on being kids – that’s why we made investments in our bipartisan budget to provide more learning opportunities for our students and to help prevent gun violence in the first place,” said Governor Shapiro. “Under Lieutenant Governor Davis’ leadership at PCCD, we are going to drive out these dollars as quickly as possible to our schools, municipalities, and community organizations. My Administration will continue to deliver for our communities so that every Pennsylvanian can be safe and feel safe – and have the real freedom that comes when you can walk down the street in your community without worrying about gun violence.”
"Since the state budget passed in July, I've traveled across Pennsylvania—from Scranton to Lancaster, and Allentown to McKeesport—meeting with residents to understand their experiences with gun violence and to discuss how our 2024-25 budget will enhance community safety through increased investments in programs like the ones announced today,” said Lt. Governor Austin Davis, Chair of PCCD and the School Safety and Security Committee. “I’m excited to announce that organizations can now apply for grant funding to combat violence and offer enriching afterschool learning opportunities in a safe and supportive settings for young people. We're adopting a comprehensive strategy to tackle the root causes of violence and make our communities safer."
State investments in public safety, like PCCD’s successful VIP program, have made a significant impact on reducing community violence across the state in recent years. In 2023, homicides decreased by 16 percent across Pennsylvania, compared to 13 percent nationally, and 29 out of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties saw declines in homicides. Pennsylvania’s largest city, Philadelphia, has also seen significant and sustained reductions in gun violence, among the biggest decreases among major U.S. cities so far in 2024.
While progress has been made, too many Pennsylvanians are still impacted by gun violence—more than 1,600 Pennsylvanians die as a result of gun-related injuries in Pennsylvania each year and Pennsylvania’s firearm fatality rate is significantly higher than surrounding states.
BOOST Grant Program
Approximately $11.5 million in state funding is available to support a range of prevention-focused programming and out-of-school time (OST) models for statewide or local projects for at-risk school-age populations in un- or underserved communities.
Under this solicitation, school districts, area career and technical schools, libraries, statewide youth-serving 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations, and community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. Programs are encouraged to go beyond traditional anti-violence strategies, including mentoring, career exploration and readiness, and more structured OST programming for youth.
Track 1: Local BOOST Projects: Maximum award amounts will be based on applicants’ current operating expenditures, with no applicant able to request more than 50 percent of their operating expenditures, up to $250,000 total.
Track 2: Statewide BOOST Projects: Maximum award amounts will be up to $250,000 per subrecipient to a maximum of $1,500,000. Applicants must include at least three proposed subrecipients providing OST programming serving at-risk youth as part of their funding request.
VIP Grant Program
A total of $45 million in VIP Grant funding is being announced for FY 2024-25 through VIP Grants and Collaborative Community Violence Intervention (CCVI) Strategies Grants. Under both funding opportunities, priority consideration under this competitive solicitation will be given to initiatives that would take place in ZIP code(s) in the Commonwealth with the highest levels of firearm-related injury and/or counties that experienced an increase in homicides between 2022 and 2023.
Community-based organizations (i.e., active, registered 501(c)(3)s), institutions of higher education, municipalities, counties, and district attorney’s offices are eligible to apply for funding under this solicitation. Both VIP and CCVI funding announcements provide the opportunity to apply for funding under two unique tracks.
VIP Grants
Eligible applicants can request funding for a wide range of programs that address community violence and prevention efforts.
Track 1: VIP Expansion/Enhancement Grants: Support the continuation, expansion, and enhancement of effective, community-led strategies to intervene and respond to community violence. PCCD expects to fund 25-30 applicants with budgets up to $950,000 for projects lasting up to 36 months.
Track 2: VIP Start-up Grants: Provide financial, technical assistance, training, coaching, and other supports to grassroots community organizations to support new programming as well as strengthen their infrastructure, enhance sustainability, and meet essential capacity needs. PCCD expects to fund 15-20 applicants with budgets up to $100,000 for projects lasting up to 18 months.
CCVI Strategies Projects
This initiative invests in collaborative community violence prevention and response strategies within focused service areas. Grants will support local planning and implementation of short-term intervention, mid-term prevention, and long-term transformation strategies designed to increase local coordination to more effectively prevent, intervene, and respond to gun and group-related violence.
Track 1: CCVI Planning Grants: Provide funding for local jurisdictions (counties, municipalities) to support the development of violence reduction plans. PCCD expects to fund 5-10 CCVI Planning Grants with budgets up to $75,000 over 18 months.
Track 2: CCVI Implementation Grants: Advance collaborative, effective, community-driven violence intervention strategies to reduce violence within counties/municipalities with the highest levels of gun incidents and injury statewide, especially those who experienced an increase in homicides between 2022 and 2023. PCCD expects to fund 2-3 CCVI Implementation Grants with budgets up to $2,000,000 over 36 months.
Applicants may only submit an application under one of the funding announcements above and have until Thursday, October 31, 2024, to apply. Interested applicants can find more information on funding requirements and how to apply on PCCD’s Gun Violence Grants and Funding and Active Funding Announcements webpages. Questions regarding the solicitations and the application process should be forwarded to ra-cd-vipgrants@pa.gov, with the name of the solicitation in the subject line, by close of business on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.
Interested applicants are invited to attend the following virtual webinars hosted by PCCD. These webinars will provide an overview of the FY 2024-25 VIP and BOOST solicitations, funding priorities and requirements, tips for navigating the application process, and answer technical questions from potential applicants.
BOOST webinar: October 2, 2024 at 3:00 PM. Register to attend.
CCVI webinar: October 9, 2024 at 3:00 PM. Register to attend.
VIP webinar: October 10, 2024 at 3:00 PM. Register to attend.
Learn more about the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s initiatives to reduce and prevent gun violence on the PCCD website.
###