WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Raliance announced the recipients of 14 grants totaling more than $600,000 that will fund novel efforts across the U.S. to prevent sexual assault. This is the second round of an ongoing grant program that seeks to advance promising practices or policies that improve the response to victims, reduce the likelihood of perpetration of sexual violence, or strengthen communities' capacity to create safe environments.
The diverse group of exceptional grant recipients include HEART Women & Girls, a Chicago faith-based organization that will implement trainings that promote sexual health and sexual violence awareness in Muslim communities; Strength United, a community college-based program in Northbridge California that will continue its work in changing norms, behaviors, and campus climate across the community college system; and the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs Inc., an Albuquerque-based group that will introduce a new project to draw on grandparents as advocates for children at risk for sexual abuse. A full list is below and available at www.raliance.org, including the first-round grantees announced last June.
"We are thrilled to support the important work organizations are doing every day to prevent sexual violence," said Karen Baker, director of NSVRC. "Our grantees and the innovative programs and initiatives they implement will make a real difference, and we are excited to watch them put the grants into action and help put a stop to sexual violence once and for all."
Composed of three top sexual violence prevention organizations, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA)-PreventConnect and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV), Raliance serves as the central hub for effective allocation and distribution of programmatic funding on sexual violence and as the go-to resource for policymakers, advocates, service providers, and the media. Raliance is made possible through a multiyear, $10 million commitment from the National Football League (NFL) – the first-ever major corporate funding of sexual violence prevention initiatives.
Next month, Raliance will convene ThisGEN: Youth Summit, a five-day conference in Washington, D.C., for sophomore and junior high school students. Through supporting youth and nurturing the conditions for their own empowerment, Raliance hopes to encourage the students to bring learning and activism back to their communities. In May, Raliance, in partnership with The Poynter Institute for Media Studies, will present the RALLYs awards to honor the highest level of journalistic achievement in covering sexual violence.
Round two grantees are:
Category 1: Services or advocacy for people who have been sexually victimized
- ASISTA Immigrant Assistance in Suffield, CT ($49,750)
- New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs Inc. in Albuquerque, NM ($45,000)
- HEART Women & Girls in Chicago, IL ($30,000)
- Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault in Denver, CO ($29,976)
Category 2: Strategies for reducing the likelihood of people to sexually offend
- Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault in Kansas City, Mo ($50,000)
- New England Adolescent Research Center (NEARI) Press and Training Center in Holyoke, MA ($49,978)
- ReThink in Washington, D.C. ($49,880)
- Barry University, Inc. in Miami Shores, FL ($49,854)
- New York City Anti-Violence Project in New York, NY ($46,000)
- Our VOICE in Asheville, NC ($32,000)
Category 3: Organizational, systemic, or community-level prevention strategies
- California State University Northridge Foundation dba Strength United in Northridge, CA ($50,000)
- Tewa Women United in Santa Cruz, NM ($50,000)
- National Consortium for Academics and Sports in Orlando, FL ($47,660)
- Civic Nation in Washington, DC ($20,000)
ABOUT RALIANCE
Raliance serves as the central hub for effective allocation and distribution of programmatic funding in sexual violence prevention and as the go-to resource for policymakers, advocates, service providers and the media. Raliance is funded through a $10 million multiyear commitment from the National Football League. The name was inspired by the entity's intent to rally engagement from stakeholders and align goals and resources behind its overarching mission of putting a stop to sexual violence once and for all. Learn more at Raliance.org.