Community Expansion Grant

The Community Expansion Grant is offered by the City of Philadelphia Office of Public Safety through its Division of Community Grants. It is one of the City's Anti-Violence Community Partnership Grants, alongside the Targeted Community Investment Grant and Community Capacity Grant. The Office of Public Safety focuses on prevention and intervention within Philadelphia's Prevention, Intervention, and Enforcement approach to public safety. Through its community grant programs, OPS supports community-based organizations that use trusted relationships, local knowledge, and community-rooted expertise to address conditions affecting public safety. The Community Expansion Grant is specifically designed for mid-sized, established organizations with demonstrated capacity to implement larger-scale programming and achieve measurable community impact. The Community Expansion Grant supports prevention and intervention programming and services intended to reduce and sustain reductions in violence, particularly gun violence, through proven interventions, diversion activities, and community-based efforts. OPS describes its broader grant-funded work as including trauma-informed approaches, community resiliency, conflict mediation, and social or economic empowerment. Examples of programming supported through OPS grants have included resource fairs, outreach events, job training and career development, neighborhood and community beautification, education events and workshops, and community engagement. Community Expansion Grant programming must take place in Philadelphia and serve Philadelphia residents. Community Expansion Grant awards are available at five specified funding levels: $100,000, $250,000, $500,000, $750,000, and $1,000,000. The source does not identify a required cost share or matching contribution. The grant period is January 1 through December 31, 2027, and funded organizations must provide programming during at least nine months of the twelve-month grant period. The source also contains a separate statement that programming must occur during at least six months of a nine-month grant period; this appears alongside the Community Expansion Grant eligibility requirements even though the stated Community Expansion Grant performance period is twelve months. No separate total funding allocation or number of Community Expansion Grant awards is stated. Eligible applicants for the OPS grants include individuals, nonprofits, fiscally sponsored organizations, LLCs, S-Corps, and B-Corps. For the Community Expansion Grant specifically, the opportunity is appropriate for organizations that are at least three years old and have experience managing concurrent funding of at least $75,000. Funded organizations must have operational budgets of $5,000,000 or less. Programming must occur in Philadelphia and serve Philadelphia residents. OPS states that Philadelphia community-based organizations are welcome to apply and encourages participation by both established organizations and organizations that have struggled to secure funding from other sources. Applications must be submitted through the Submittable platform, which requires applicants to create a free Submittable account. The common application for OPS grants opened August 28, 2026, at 12:00 PM and closes September 28, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET. Applicants can use the online OPS Grants application in Submittable. Virtual information sessions are offered during September 2026 to provide information about the grants and application process, but participation in an information session is not identified as a submission requirement. Community Expansion Grant applicants may be invited to an interview after application review. At the interview stage, OPS may request additional information, including a full programming calendar and budget narrative. Final selection of funded organizations is based on the combined application and interview score, and the application materials direct applicants to the scoring rubric for further details. All applicants will receive written notification of their funding decision, and organizations selected for funding may be required to provide additional information or documentation. Interview invitations, award notifications, and other OPS communications are provided through Submittable, so applicants and grantees are expected to monitor their Submittable messages and respond promptly. Questions about the grants may be directed to AntiViolenceGrants@phila.gov.

Demonstrate capacity for larger-scale programming and measurable community impact; clearly establish at least three years of organizational history and experience managing concurrent funding of at least $75,000; ensure proposed programming takes place in Philadelphia and serves Philadelphia residents; plan programming for at least nine months of the twelve-month grant period; ensure the operational budget does not exceed $5,000,000; monitor Submittable messages and respond promptly to interview or documentation requests