The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutGVPC Minutes 05.20.21Minutes: Gun Violence Prevention Commission Work Session Grant Considerations May 25th, 5:45 pm Zoom - Recorded meeting Commissioners present: Joe Cobb Decca Knight Stacey Sheppard Shakira Williams Nicole Ross Rev. Tim Harvey Elliott Major Rabbi Kathy Cohen - left before voting on the grants Commissioners absent: Taisha Steele Additional Individuals Present Laura Carini Angie O’Brien WSLS Shane Dwyer WDBJ7 Eric Miller WSET Allessandra Young Joe Cobb ● Grants posted on May 13th on various platforms ● Received 24 applications totaling $101,000 ● Will review each application ● Angie and Laura will be working on MOUs and finances Angie O’Brien ● Roll call - above present ● Quorum present Joe Cobb ● One application excluded that is an individual - Sex, Drug, God ● Requests that new non-profits verify status ● Individual questions can be submitted to Angie by commisioners ● Sent a spreadsheet with summaries ○ Following down spreadsheet in order ■ Boys and Girls Club ■ Community Arts Reach ● Questions for organization ○ What age ranges does this cover? ○ Question about getting guns out of hands of youth being in the application - how will this happen? ■ Anew Genesis Ministries ● Questions for organization ○ Projection of how many students can be served ■ Cultural Arts for Excellence ● Elliot notes redundant nature of some of the proposals ● Kathy notes that some programs already may have funding; some programs seem to be bringing something new to the community ■ TAP ■ CASA Latina ■ Building Bridges over Barriers ● Elliot shared that the founders felt that $7,000 was a “pipe dream” and will augment with their own fundraising ■ Carilion Emergency Medicine ● Two programs: screening/motivational interviewing AND gun safe storage ■ All Inmates Matter ■ Virginia Harm Reduction buy back ■ Straight Street ■ SOULL Foundation ■ Sex Drug God ● Individual not a foundation - excluded ■ Paradise Programs ● Two programs: Lock-ins and Youth Ministry ■ Humble Hustle/Imagine Me ● Question for organization ○ How many can they reach with funding? ■ Goodwill Youth HQ center ■ Garden of Prayer ● Question for organization ○ Religious focus? ** We as a commission cannot fund activities with a religious focus ● Friendship House ○ Shakira points out that programming can be religious ● Family Service ● West End Center ● We Charm Angie O’Brien ● Stacey proposing a matrix ○ 501C3 ○ Does it meet goals? ○ Does it meet the reach of the community? ○ Is application complete? ○ Do they have their own funding? Joe Cobb ● Cannot vote if you are associated with the organization ● Share top 3 organizations for each person Shakira: ● TAP ● West End ● Paradise ● Other notes: ○ felt that Humble Hustle didn’t cover gun violence specifically ○ was a little confused about the All Inmates program but liked it ○ Carilion is already well funded ○ Harm reduction: what will they do with the rest of the money? fund less? Decca ● Virginia Harm ● CASA Latina ● Straight Street Elliot ● Virginia Harm ● Building Bridges: Elliot has an affiliation ● Garden of Prayer ● Others: Community Arts Reach Tim ● TAP ● Building Bridges ● Virginia Harm ● Others: Straight Street, CASA Latina (he is associated with them) ● Concerns: Renovation of Building with Garden of Prayer Stacey ● Boys and Girls Club ● TAP (associated with) ● Torn between CommunityArts and Humble Hustle Nicole ● Paradise Community (associated with) ● CASA Latina ● CommunityArts ● Concerns: Goodwill just got a lot of money and Carilion has ample funding Kathy ● VA Harm Reduction ● Building Bridges ● CASA Latina and CAFE Program tied ● Concerns: remove Carilion and Goodwill applications Joe: overview of top 3 ● We have identified a number of organizations in our top three ○ Harm Reduction - 4 votes - $5,000 ○ Building Bridges - 3 votes - $5,000 ○ TAP- 3 votes - $5,000 ○ CASA - 3 votes - $3,950 ○ Community Arts - 3 votes - $4,276 ○ Paradise 2 votes - $5,000 ○ Mentions: ■ Straight Street, $4,500 ■ West End $5,000 ■ Garden $4,100 ■ Boys and Girls $5,000 ■ CAFE (collaboration of many) $5,000 ■ HH $5,000 ■ Family Services $4,800 ■ ANEW $3,100 ● Total of above organizations: $64,717.50 ● Shakira makes a request for line items ● Elliot concerns about TAP being a large organization like Carilion and Goodwill ● Joe ○ Throwing in ANEW program too ● Nicole ○ Throwing in Paradise too (has association) ● Shakira ○ All Inmates program doesn't have a lot of resources ● Elliot ○ Has concerns about the All inmates program and the 501C3; Joe concurs ** Kathy Cohen left meeting Possibly partially funding ● SOUUL foundation ● WE Charm ● Friendship ● Paradise Elliot suggests reducing each by $500 to support other programs Distribute remaining funds between ● SOUUL ● Humble Bees Youth ● WE Charm ● Friendship Voting and Final Amounts ● Boys and Girls: $4,500 approved ● Community ARTS: $ 4200 approved ● ANEWW: $3100 approved ● CAFE: $4500 approved ● TAP: $4500 approved - abstain Stacey ● CASA : $4000 approved - abstain Stacey and Shakira ● Bridges: $4500 - approved - abstain Elliot ● Harm Reduction: $4500 - approved ● Straight Street: $4500 - approved ● SOUUL: $1600 - approved ● Paradise: $4500 - approved - abstain Nicole ● Humble Bees: $1600 - approved - abstain Nicole ● Humble Hustle: $4500 - approved ● Garden of Prayer: $4100 - approved - Tim opposed (will clarify that no funding for building renovations) ● Family Service: $4300 - approved ● West End: $4500 - approved ● We Charm: $1600 - approved NOT Funding ● Friendship ● Carilion ● Goodwill ● Request to media by Joe that media not notify organizations before the commission does ● Angie and Laura will contact organizations that received funding and those that did not ● Media release by 11:00 am on May 26th, 2021 Adjournment