The fifth round of grants totaling $360,000 will be awarded to community-based organizations addressing the effects of the opioid crisis
PHILADELPHIA — Today, the City of Philadelphia opened the 2025 grant application for the Kensington Community Resilience Fund (KCR Fund), a public-private-community partnership between community members, City government, and the Scattergood Foundation. The KCR Fund is entering its fifth year of community-led grantmaking to address the harms caused by the opioid crisis in Kensington, Harrowgate, and Fairhill. It engages community members to set funding strategies and decide which organizations receive grants.
The KCR Fund is funded by the City of Philadelphia’s national opioid settlement dollars along with private foundation support, including the Scattergood Foundation, Patricia Kind Family Foundation, and the Nelson Foundation.
“I am excited to announce the opening of the KCR Fund’s fifth year of grantmaking,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “I am committed to meeting Philadelphians where they are, and particularly in our most vulnerable communities, where the opioid and overdose crises have hit the hardest. The KCR Fund meets our residents where they are, listens to them, and takes action based on what we hear from our communities. I can’t think of a better model to help begin healing Philadelphia.”
Since 2021 the KCR Fund has awarded $1.12 million in general operating support and will award an additional $360,000 in 2025 through $10,000 general operating grants. Returning grantees will also have an opportunity to receive a $5,000 supplemental grant for a total of up to $15,000. Grant recipients must be a 501(c)3 or have a fiscal sponsor and either be located inside the KCR Fund’s geographic boundaries or bring a consistent track record of service in the community. Work must address at least one of six focus areas prioritized by community members as critical to healing from the harms caused by the opioid crisis and preventing future opioid use and damage to the community.
- Beautification and Blight Removal
- Building Resilience, Promoting Wellness, and Addressing Community Trauma
- Connecting Residents to Resources
- Public Safety
- Workforce Development and Training
- Youth Development
Klean Kensington is a three time grantee that pays local teens to beautify the neighborhood. The teens gain positive experiences engaging with and improving the community while transforming blighted sites linked to drug use, trash, and violence into safe and thriving garden spaces for neighbors to gather. Their first grant in 2022 helped launch the program, while subsequent grants helped the group to more than double the number of teens served, expand to multiple sites, leverage new funding, and forge new community partnerships. Founder Jeremy Chen noted, “Without KCRF’s vote of confidence in our neighborhood projects, we would not have had the capacity to begin paying teens or connecting the dots in the community that we have. We may not have a huge budget, but to the teens working hard to reshape what is possible in the neighborhood, the funding we have received is a big deal.¨
Both grant recipients and residents serving on the KCR Fund’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and Community Granting Group (CGG) receive numerous opportunities for professional development and relationship building through the KCR Fund’s learning community, including workshops, retreats, technical assistance, and community networking events.
The KCR Fund’s participatory model is critical to its success. By giving community members power to decide what is funded, it supports the programs they view as most valuable and impactful. “The experience of working on the CAC and CGG has enlightened me on all the groups in the community that are doing great work and has established a network of resources,” said Mayme Robinson, a resident and grantee who leads Kensington Neighbors United Civic Association. “The residents have a voice and are empowered to make changes in the neighborhood. That brings hope and power to the community.”
Entering its fifth year, the KCR Fund serves as a model for investing in community solutions to challenges like the opioid crisis with an equitable and inclusive process. “We continue to be thankful for KCRF and to believe that it is the way that more grantmaking should be done in the city and beyond,” expressed Jess Shoffner, a Kensington resident and grantee who leads Hart Lane Neighborhood Farm. “Thank you for a fund that actually connects with the direct needs of our vulnerable community.”
Additional information about the KCR Fund can be found at www.kcrfund.org and in the following videos highlighting their work their work in the community:
How to Apply:
Eligible organizations may apply for a grant on the KCR Fund’s website until Thursday, January 30, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. All materials and the application are available in Spanish and English. A printable copy of the 2025 Request for Proposals can be downloaded here:
Interested organizations should attend one of two upcoming information sessions (Spanish interpretation will be available at the January 9th session).
