Grant Deadline Approaching For Crime Reduction, Community Programs and Projects

The deadline for applications for grant money available from the Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund is just under two weeks away. In October, Attorney General Matt Denn and Delaware Division of Small Business, Development and Tourism Director Cerron Cade announced $1.3 million in funds for community organizations to support crime reduction, neighborhood revitalization, and economic development programs statewide, with special emphasis on programs in and around downtown areas and neighborhoods. Applications must be received by December 20.

The grant funds were allocated to the NBBF by the Department of Justice, with the agreement of the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee, from settlements with national banks for alleged misconduct in the national financial markets.

Among the listed goals of the grants from the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund (NBBF) are to:

  • address unmet needs of high crime areas statewide
  • improve resources and opportunities for at-risk juveniles and adolescents
  • increase the use of planning that incorporates crime prevention strategies
  • enable projects by neighborhood-level organizations that may not traditionally receive grant funding

Prior rounds of NBBF grants since 2015 have included juvenile activities, including summer and after-school programs; neighborhood improvement, including vacant lot projects; lights and façade improvements; public safety and recidivism activities, including police foot patrols and programs for released inmates, surveillance cameras, and safety courses; and downtown district planning activities in cities and towns throughout Delaware.

The application with the full list of purposes and requirements is available here. Applications are to the Division of Small Business, Development and Tourism, which administers NBBF.

Successful applicants are expected to be determined in the first few months of 2018.