Deadline to submit applications for city’s Measure N grant program is Dec. 13
VISALIA – The Visalia Police Department reported last fall that gang violence is at a 20-year low in Visalia. And while its sworn officers deserve most of the credit, Chief Jason Salazar credits the partnerships and community involvement as the number one reason for the drop in gang related crime.
One of the largest pieces of the department’s ongoing work is providing funding for youth organizations through the Measure N Funded Youth Grant Program. Administered by the executive committee of the Visalia Multi-Agency Gang Intervention Task Force, the grant will make available up to $75,000 in funding for calendar year 2020. Awarded grants may be one award for the entirety of the amount, or multiple grant awards to multiple community partner agencies in various amounts. Only one application per organization will be accepted. The Visalia City Council will ultimately approve the grant awardees after recommendations from the Executive Committee.
The Measure N Funded Youth Grant Program is available to all qualified 501 (c)(3) non-profit agencies with programs or services for people under the age of 18 in the City of Visalia. The Grant Program to be funded must benefit youth residing in the City of Visalia, and include the following objectives:
- Programs which specifically target at risk youth age groups included in grades six through eight.
- Programs which focus on assisting youth in envisioning their future, setting goals, and achieving those goals.
- Programs that encourage and facilitate parental involvement with their children. This could be a collaborative effort in teaching the kids or in learning alongside them.
- Programs which instill basic moral, ethical, and social behaviors that build strong character with the youth at the same time receiving examples of these characteristics from those employing the program.
- Programs which challenging examples of these characteristics from those employing the program.
- Programs which challenge youth mentally, physically, and constructively through technical and sports activities.
- Programs which teach and build leadership skills.
Grant awards may be less than requested, which will require an adjustment to your proposed scope of work. Half of the grant will be distributed upon award, and the other half will be distributed after the Executive Committee receives midyear reports from grant recipients.
The deadline for submitting applications is 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13. For more information about the grant and how to receive application paperwork, contact Lt. Brent Abbott at 559-713-4154 or email [email protected].
The grant program is funded through Measure N sales tax, a half-cent sales tax measure approved by Visalia voters in November 2016. The Visalia City Council also designated a portion of the funding to be allotted for youth programs that are geared towards gang prevention and will provide up to $75,000 for those efforts.
