Barra Foundation made 7 new grants this month

The Barra Foundation is closing out the year with seven new grants we’re excited to follow in 2017 and beyond.

The grants range in topic from police-community relations to employment opportunities for people experiencing homelessness to better data for cultural organizations.

New grants! @phillyzoo @LISC_Philly @firststepstaff @ChildFamilyHeal @PearlSBuckIntl @ConstitutionCtr @philaculture https://t.co/W3iaIIZUiF

— The Barra Foundation (@BarraFdn) December 21, 2016

• Child & Family Connections ($130K, two years): CFC will pilot a “low-cost” new model for reducing custody loss for parents with mental illnesses called SafeTogether. The pilot will be carried out in partnership with the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
• First Step ($280K, one year): Founded in Atlanta, First Step is a nonprofit that connects people experiencing homelessness to employment opportunities through a for-profit staffing agency arm. First Step will look to acquire a staffing agency here in Philadelphia. Part of this grant will go toward hiring a broker to explore those opportunities, and then, if an appropriate agency is found, the remainder of the grant will go toward acquisition, according to Barra Program Officer Kate Houstoun.
• Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance ($150K, 18 months): In partnership with Jacobson Consulting Applications, the Alliance will pilot a tool called Audience Intelligence Database (AIDb), developed to allow cultural organizations to “translate complex real-time data into user-friendly dashboards.”
• Philadelphia LISC ($125K, 18 months): This grant will help LISC scale real estate developer Ken Weinstein’s successful Jumpstart Germantown program by formalizing the curriculum so other neighborhoods can “build their own,” according to Houstoun.
• National Constitution Center ($125K, two years): The Constitution Center is partnering with the Philadelphia Police Department and former Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey to implement a program called Policing in a More Perfect Union, which aims to “mend fractured police-community relations” through a series of educational offerings for both officers and youth.
• Pearl S. Buck International ($250K, two years): Pearl S. Buck International will rebrand for a new era that calls for “cultural understanding.” The organization will implement a “dynamic new tour focused on social justice issues” including race, inequality and inclusion.
• The Zoological Society of Philadelphia ($125K, one year): The Zoo will follow the lead of the city’s anchor institutions and begin the process of evolving into an “urban asset” through community engagement efforts.