Recipients
Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) and Building Opportunities through Out-of-School Time (BOOST)
FY2025-2026 VIP Recipients
These Allegheny County organizations received recommendations for FY2025-26 VIP & BOOST Funding cycle.
Amachi Pittsburgh - $500,000
Amachi Pittsburgh is requesting funding to expand its structured, trauma‑informed mentoring model across multiple Allegheny County school partners serving youth exposed to community violence, concentrated poverty, and familial incarceration
Bible Center Church - The Oasis Project - $290,030
Bible Center Church – The Oasis Project is requesting funding to expand transportation access for approximately 400 children annually, ages 5–13, participating in The Maker’s Clubhouse out‑of‑school‑time programs in Pittsburgh’s Homewood and surrounding east‑end neighborhoods.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania - $415,771
Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania (BGCWPA) is requesting funding to expand out‑of‑school time (OST) services for students in grades 5–8 at Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Arsenal Middle School.
Carnegie Museums’ Andy Warhol Museum - $413,826
Carnegie Museums’ Andy Warhol Museum is seeking funding to expand its suite of Out‑of‑School‑Time (OST) programs serving at‑risk school‑age youth across Pittsburgh, particularly in neighborhoods experiencing persistent inequities and stagnant violent‑crime rates.
Center for Victims (CV) - $500,000
Center for Victims (CV) is seeking VIP Intervention funding to continue and expand its community‑based violence intervention, crisis response, and youth engagement services across Allegheny County.
Best of the Batch Foundation - $200,000
Best of the Batch Foundation is requesting funding to strengthen and expand its high‑dosage, trauma‑informed out‑of‑school time model serving youth across the Mon Valley region.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh - $500,000
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh, located in Allegheny County, is requesting funding to expand its Level Up school‑based group mentoring initiative to the Sto‑Rox School District.
Brothers and Sisters Emerging - $258,000
Brothers and Sisters Emerging is requesting funding to expand its long‑standing out‑of‑school time (OST) program serving economically disadvantaged, predominantly African American youth in Pittsburgh’s Garfield and surrounding East End neighborhoods.
Center for Employment Opportunities - $500,000
The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) is requesting VIP Reentry/Aftercare funding to relaunch two paid transitional work crews in partnership with the City of Pittsburgh, serving justice‑impacted adults returning to communities with elevated violence risk.
Grounded Strategies - $282,600
Grounded Strategies, in partnership with the Wilkinsburg Sanctuary Project, is requesting funding to expand a short‑term summer youth program into a structured, year‑round violence‑prevention initiative for high school–aged youth in Wilkinsburg.
Gwen’s Girls - $499,995
Gwen’s Girls is requesting funding to expand its trauma‑informed, gender‑responsive out‑of‑school time (OST) programming for girls ages 10–18 living in high‑need communities across Allegheny County.
Helping Out Our People - $36,850
Helping Out Our People (H.O.O.P.) is requesting funding to launch a trauma‑informed after‑school intervention and support program for approximately 20–35 students annually in the Woodland Hills School District and surrounding Mon Valley communities.
Center for Victims (CV) - $500,000
Center for Victims (CV) is seeking VIP Intervention funding to continue and expand its community‑based violence intervention, crisis response, and youth engagement services across Allegheny County.
Grounded Strategies - $282,600
Grounded Strategies, in partnership with the Wilkinsburg Sanctuary Project, is requesting funding to expand a short‑term summer youth program into a structured, year‑round violence‑prevention initiative for high school–aged youth in Wilkinsburg.
Homewood Children’s Village - $499,500
Homewood Children’s Village is requesting funding to expand its Village Scholars Out‑of‑School Time (OST) program, a year‑round academic, social‑emotional, and workforce‑readiness initiative serving students in grades 6–12 across Pittsburgh’s Homewood and surrounding East End neighborhoods.
Infinite Lifestyle Solutions - $215,085
Infinite Lifestyle Solutions is requesting funding to continue its trauma‑informed Saving Our Sons and Daughters (SOSAD) program for approximately 125 students annually in the Sto‑Rox School District.
Kidcelerate - $142,500
Kidcelerate is requesting funding to sustain and strengthen its Learning Hub at Northview Heights, a high need public housing community, with an out‑of‑school time program serving K–8 students living in one of Allegheny County’s highest‑need and highest‑violence neighborhoods.
Latino Community Center - $500,000
Latino Community Center is requesting Youth‑Focused Prevention funding to expand and deepen its bilingual, culturally grounded out‑of‑school‑time programming—SOY (Supporting Our Youth) and SOMOS tutoring—for Latine school‑age youth across Allegheny County
Light of Life, Inc. - $499,947
Light of Life, Inc. is requesting VIP funding to expand and formalize its place‑based violence intervention outreach for adults experiencing unsheltered homelessness in 13 encampments across 11 Pittsburgh neighborhoods with persistently high levels of gun violence.
Maple Unified Student Academy - $385,636
Maple Unified Student Academy (MUSA) is requesting funding to expand and strengthen its out‑of‑school‑time services for at‑risk Pre‑K through 8th‑grade youth in the Steel Valley School District and surrounding Mon Valley communities.
Open Field - $164,750
Open Field is requesting funding to expand Future Forward, a soccer-based youth development initiative serving immigrant, refugee, and other marginalized teenagers across Allegheny County.
Outdoor Inclusion Coalition - $110,000
Outdoor Inclusion Coalition is requesting funding to launch Thrive Outside After School Pathways, a new structured, outdoor-experiential, violence-prevention initiative for middle school youth in high-need Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
Pittsburgh Hardball Academy, Inc. - $130,000
Pittsburgh Hardball Academy Inc. is requesting funding to expand its year-round, prevention-oriented out-of-school time programming for youth ages 8–18 across Pittsburgh.
Project Destiny, Inc. - $500,000
Project Destiny, Inc. is requesting funding to expand its prevention-centered out-of-school-time (OST) programming for K–8 youth in Pittsburgh’s Northview Heights and surrounding Northside neighborhoods.
Rankin Christian Center - $450,000
Rankin Christian Center (RCC) is requesting funding to expand its after-school and summer programming for children ages 6–12 living in Rankin Borough and the surrounding Mon Valley, an area experiencing elevated violent crime, chronic stressors, and limited safe out-of-school options for youth.
Ruth’s Way - $92,692
Ruth’s Way, Inc. requests funding to expand its trauma-informed, family-centered out-of-school-time violence prevention programming for school-age youth—primarily adolescent girls—in high-need Allegheny County communities with persistent and elevated violent-crime rates.
SLB Radio Productions, Inc. - $369,555
SLB Radio Productions, Inc. (SLB) is requesting funding to extend and expand its existing Summer Camp and Day Camp programming for teens.
STEM Coding Lab - $499,904
STEM Coding Lab (SCL) is requesting funding to continue and expand its Out-of-School Time (OST) and summer computer science, AI, and STEM programming for K–8 students in Allegheny County’s highest-need neighborhoods.
The Citizen Science Lab - $498,000
The Citizen Science Lab (TCSL) is requesting funding to expand its out-of-school time (OST) STEM pipeline programming, including at its new Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Scientific Excellence in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.
The Kingsley Association - $379,863
The Kingsley Association is requesting funding to launch Tween L.E.A.D. (Leadership, Education, Assistance, and Development), a new prevention‑focused out‑of‑school time (OST) initiative serving middle school youth ages 11–14 across Pittsburgh’s East End neighborhoods, including Larimer, Garfield, and East Liberty.
This Generation Connect - $44,195
This Generation Connect (TGC) is requesting to support the expansion of its Community Leader Program, a 24-week after-school youth development and violence-prevention initiative serving approximately 150 teens and young adults in East Pittsburgh, Wilmerding, and surrounding Mon Valley communities.
Three Rivers Rowing Association - $300,000
Three Rivers Rowing Association (TRRA) is requesting to expand First Row 2.0, a year-round violence-prevention and youth development pathway for at-risk youth ages 12–18 in Allegheny County.
Trade Institute of Pittsburgh - $500,000
The Trade Institute of Pittsburgh (TIP) is requesting funding to expand its established vocational training and reentry-support model for approximately 265 adults at high risk of violence involvement, including individuals returning from incarceration, those experiencing homelessness, people with substance use disorder, and residents of communities with elevated violent-crime rates such as Homewood, East Pittsburgh, the Hill District, and Wilkinsburg.
Young Black Motivated Kings & Queens - $500,000
Young Black Motivated Kings & Queens is requesting to expand its year‑round, culturally responsive out‑of‑school‑time and summer programming for approximately 125 youth in the 15235 ZIP code of Penn Hills, a community experiencing persistent poverty, trauma exposure, and elevated risk of violence.
Youth Places, Incorporated - $500,000
YouthPlaces, Incorporated is requesting to sustain and strengthen its Hobbies to Opportunities (H2O) model, a comprehensive, prevention‑focused out‑of‑school time initiative serving approximately 600 youth ages 12–18 across six site locations in Allegheny County, including various neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, McKeesport, Homewood and McKees Rocks.
Will Allen Foundation - $291,500
The Will Allen Foundation is requesting to strengthen and expand its prevention‑focused after‑school and summer programming for approximately 130 elementary and middle school youth in the Clairton City School District, a high‑need community experiencing persistent poverty, trauma exposure, chronic absenteeism, and limited access to structured out‑of‑school opportunities.
Youth Enrichment Services - $499,591
Youth Enrichment Services is requesting to expand its youth‑led, prevention‑focused violence‑reduction initiatives serving approximately 900 young people ages 12–24 across Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
Youth Enrichment Services - $499,591
Youth Enrichment Services is requesting to expand its youth‑led, prevention‑focused violence‑reduction initiatives serving approximately 900 young people ages 12–24 across Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
FY2025-2026 Local BOOST Recipients
These Allegheny County organizations received recommendations for FY2025-26 VIP & BOOST Funding cycle.
Duquesne City School District - $500,000
Duquesne City School District is requesting BOOST funding to expand the Duquesne AI Scholars initiative, a year-round, out‑of‑school‑time academic enrichment program serving Allegheny County approximately 150 students annually in grades 3–8 within Allegheny County.
Penn Hills Library - $282,000
Penn Hills Library is requesting BOOST funding to expand and enhance its out-of-school-time (OST) programming for school-age youth in Penn Hills and the broader Allegheny County region.
Pittsburgh Community Science Workshop - $33,500
Pittsburgh Community Services Workshop (PCSW) is seeking funding to expand its free, walk-in, after-school science and engineering programs for K–8 youth in two high-need communities: Pittsburgh’s California-Kirkbride neighborhood and McKees Rocks.
The Dragon’s Den - $333,911
The Dragon’s Den is requesting funding to expand its out-of-school-time violence-prevention model in Homestead (15120), an area with high poverty, chronic disinvestment, and elevated youth risk factors.
FY2024-2025 BOOST Recipients
These Allegheny County organizations received recommendations for FY2024-25 BOOST Funding cycle.
Allegheny Youth Development - $139,520
Allegheny Youth Development (AYD) plans to expand its SEL programming and overall service capacity to improve the lives of children in Pittsburgh.
Hopebound Ministries Inc. (dba Mooncrest Neighborhood Programs) - $79,000
Hopebound Ministries, Inc. (dba Mooncrest Neighborhood Programs) plans to support a free 10-week summer camp program and a free after-school program serving children in an underserved neighborhood located in an isolated section of Moon Twp., with no public transportation.
Melting Pot Ministries - $250,000
Melting Pot Ministries (MPM) plans to provide OST services to at-risk youth. MPM’s OST programming focuses on providing safe, enriching environments for students during outside of school hours, including after-school and summer breaks.
SLB Radio Productions Inc. - $192,410
SLB Radio Productions plans to provide a full day, 5 days/week, 6-week OST program for at-risk teens at its Youth Media Center located in Pittsburgh's Northside during Summer 2025 and Summer 2026.
Volunteers of America of PA - $208,184
Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania plans to enhance its OST program, The Youth Empowerment Program, in Sharpsburg, PA. The Youth Empowerment Program is dedicated to supporting underserved and underrepresented youth in a trauma-informed, safe space that fosters connections and positive development.
Early Excellence Project - $235,446
The Early Excellence Project plans to expand High Impact Tutoring Program to out-of-school time (OST) settings in the Southside of Pittsburgh.
Learning Disabilities Association of PA - $60,000
The Learning Disabilities Association of Pennsylvania plans to provide high-quality reading instruction to at-risk youth within communities with higher needs. This aims to support over 100 at-risk students across seven locations in Pittsburgh who struggle with reading because they are more likely to face incarceration and school problems compared to those who read at grade level.
North Hills Affordable Housing (dba HEARTH) - $250,000
HEARTH plans to expand its on-site out-of-school time programming for children and youth in its transitional housing program, all of whom have experienced homelessness and domestic violence.
Steel City Squash Inc. - $250,000
Steel City Squash plans to expand its out-of-school time programming that utilizes education, athletics, and mentorship to empower under-resourced youth to achieve academic, athletic, and personal success.
Youth Opportunities Development - $138,225
Youth Opportunities Development plans to provide daily, year-round afterschool and summer programming for underserved youth in Clairton, PA. The focus of this initiative is on mentoring, education, and recreation.