Nonprofits and government agencies in high-crime areas should look into Weed and Seed competitive grants, which are administered by the Community Capacity Development Office at the Office of Justice Programs. Successful applicants can get up to $1 million over a five-year period.
Weed and Seed sites are created with participation from a local U.S. Attorney’s Office with the intention of reducing crime, drug trafficking and gang activity.
The basic rules:
*Applicants must be located in an area that suffers from a “persistently high level of serious violent crime.” Said persistence is established by providing stats on the eight “Part I” crimes: murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, burglary, aggravated assault, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson.
*Proposed programs must operate in an area that would constitute a new Weed and Seed site (although that location can include portions of an existing site).
*Minimum non-federal match of 25 percent.
This page lists current sites, and provides a long list of people to contact about their grant application experiences, project development and more.
Draft applications are due Aug. 19, final application by Sept. 9. Leave time for registration through Grants.gov, which takes about a week.
