PHILADELPHIA – The City of Philadelphia today announced the third round of grant recipients that will receive support from the Kensington Community Resilience Fund (KCR Fund), a public-private-community partnership between community members, City government, regional funders, and the Scattergood Foundation. The grants were awarded to grassroots organizations that are focused on improving the quality of life for residents in the communities that have been impacted by the overdose crisis.
In this round, a total of $360,000 has been awarded to 36 organizations, which brings the total KCR fund grants to $760,000 over three years.
KCR Fund follows a participatory grantmaking process (“For Kensington, By Kensington”) that allows those who know best – community members – to make funding decisions.
“The Kensington Community Resilience Fund is one of the grantmaking initiatives created during this administration that makes me incredibly proud. It shows what can be done when a community partners with the City to make decisions about how to improve the quality of life of residents affected by the ongoing overdose crisis,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “The only way for us to end and recover from this crisis is to work together. This includes public-private partnerships, and we are thankful for and impressed by the dedication and support of so many partners.”
Residents and community leaders are integral to setting KCRF funding priorities and eligibility criteria, and they play a lead role in the application review process that decides which programs and organizations should receive funding. Funded organizations focus on the six issues identified below as top priorities by Kensington residents and nonprofit, civic, and faith-based leaders:
- Public Safety
- Youth Development
- Workforce Development & Training
- Beautification & Blight Removal
- Connecting Residents to Resources
- Building Resilience & Addressing Community Trauma
“I have served on the community input group for the last two grantmaking rounds and through this experience I’ve seen many youths getting more into community service and helping to improve their communities,” Daisie Cardona, a community leader and photographer. “Many of the groups that applied and received this grant encourage youth to do just that, helping make a better future, both for Kensington and the youth that live here.”
The grantees each receive a one-year $10,000 grant:
- Alyssa Bigbee DBA Rebel Arts*
- By Faith Eternal Health Care DBA By Faith Health And Healing*
- Centro Nueva Creacion*
- Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation*
- Fab Youth Philly*
- Kensington Voice (Fiscal sponsor by Federation of Neighborhood Centers)*
- Greater Philadelphia Diaper Bank*
- Hart Lane Neighborhood Farm*
- Historic Fair Hill*
- Hopeworks Camden
- Klean Kensington (Fiscal sponsor by Impact Services)*
- PB&J (Fiscally sponsored by Impact Services)
- Poetry at the Park (Fiscally sponsored by Impact Services)
- Kensington Neighbors United Civic Association
- La Liga del Barrio
- Legal Clinic for the Disabled
- Leveling the Playing Field
- Los Bomberos De La Calle
- Mad Beatz Philly, LLC*
- Mother Mercy House Inc.*
- Firm Hope Baptist Church (Fiscal sponsor by New* Kensington Community Development Corporation)
- Philadelphia Community Empowerment Through Soccer dba Kensington Soccer Club*
- Photography Without Borders*
- Power Street Theatre of Culture Trust Greater Philadelphia*
- RAWtools Philly
- Richard and Friends United in the Community
- Rock to the Future
- Sisters of Saint Joseph Welcome Center
- Small Things Inc.*
- Taller Puertorriqueño
- The Free Church of St John
- The Salvation Army- Eastern Pennsylvania & Delaware Divisional Headquarters New Day Drop-In Center*
- The Simple Way*
- Urban Extreme Youth Development*
- Victoria Urban Outreach Tutoring Service
- Yoga 4 Philly, 501c3*
*Organizations with an asterisk previously received a grant in rounds one or two.
“KCR Fund’s participatory grantmaking approach is unique since it involves residents from a community that has been disrupted and distressed by the opioid crisis for years now,” said Joe Pyle, President of the Scattergood Foundation. “Grantmaking without the input and decision-making by residents who live in the Kensington area and feel the effects of the opioid crisis every day would be ineffective. A situation this intense needs community involvement and ownership.”
Funding can support a wide range of uses, including overhead costs (e.g., salaries and rent), program costs, training, events, supplies, stipends, and more. These grants are intended to give organizations and projects as much flexibility as possible to carry out their work supporting the Kensington community.
More About the Fund:
The KCR Fund works to advance the following core goals:
- To promote wellness, build resilience, and improve the quality of life in the greater Kensington community.
- To increase agency and support equity and racial/social justice by having community partners and residents direct funding decisions.
- To build cohesion and connectivity among community providers, residents, and city agencies to support collaboration, information sharing, and alignment of services.
- To expand the capacity of participants – both organizations and individuals to pursue sustainable, quality-of-life-focused programming to support the community.
- To serve as a catalyst and build the infrastructure to support long-term, sustained investment, and partnership with Funders in the Kensington community.
How to Support the Fund:
The KCR Fund is currently funded by the City of Philadelphia along with generous support from the Scattergood Foundation, Patricia Kind Family Foundation, the Nelson Foundation, and the Douty Foundation. The Fund welcomes additional contributions from foundation, corporate and individual donors.
Contact Ashley Feuer-Edwards (ashley@afestrategies.com) to discuss a gift to the KCR Fund.