Youth Violence Prevention Initiative
Updated for grants starting in 2015
To reduce youth violence and the risk factors that contribute to it.
Starting in 2015, the Foundation will focus its YVP grants on the following:
- Geographies – lower-income and higher-crime areas of Allegheny County, PA; Boston, MA; Cleveland, OH; and Martin and St. Lucie Counties, FL
- Populations – within those geographies, proven-risk and higher-risk youth and youth adults (see graphic below)
- Strategies – proposals with clear and measurable objectives for serving those populations through one or more of the following strategies:
- working with clients in multiple settings, including, one-on-one, peer group, family, school, and/or community
- using the Foundation’s grants as leverage to attract other public and private resources
- implementing and expanding researched practices and evidence-based programs; increasing the non-profit’s evaluation capacity and accountability in order to determine effectiveness
Types of Foundation Support
The Foundation considers proposals for programs, projects, and coalitions and collaboratives. The Foundation awards 6-10 grants per year and grants range from $25,000 to $75,000. The Foundation occasionally makes two- or three-year commitments.
The Foundation’s YVP Committee will not consider proposals concerning youth suicide, child abuse or neglect, domestic abuse, hate crimes, media or online violence, or victim protection and advocacy.
The Roy A. Hunt Foundation created its Youth Violence Prevention (YVP) Initiative in 1997 in response to increasing juvenile violence and arrests in the 1990s. It has since awarded more than $3.3 million to prevention and intervention programs, primarily in Pittsburgh and Boston. The Foundation’s YVP Committee updated its guidelines in late 2014 based on a review of its grantmaking history, current research in the field of violence prevention, and the family’s interests.
Download a PDF list of Youth Violence Prevention grants paid in FY14 and FY15. The grants were made under the committee’s previous guidelines.
Definitions and Resources
Violent behavior is the threatened or actual use of physical force or power against another person that can result in injury, death, psychological harm, or deprivation. For most youth, violence is a learned behavior. And, most severe youth violence is committed in groups and gangs.
A number of risk factors predict an increased likelihood of a person acting violently. And, ongoing childhood trauma often results in behavior problems that later lead to delinquent and violent behavior. The Foundation is using this description of risk levels created by the Boston Youth Violence Prevention Funder Learning Collaborative:
The following websites provide current insights into youth violence prevention and effective practices:
- Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development
- Boston Youth Violence Prevention Funder Learning Collaborative
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Child Trends’ What Works/LINKS database
- DOJ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention resources on delinquency prevention, gangs, and model programs
- National Gang Center
Send an initial Letter of Inquiry as advised under How to Apply.
You will need the free program Adobe Reader to open PDF files from this site. Get Reader here.