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    PRESS RELEASE

    Shapiro-Davis Administration Invests More than $60 Million to Reduce Gun Violence and Support Youth Across the Commonwealth

    Since 2023, the Shapiro-Davis Administration has provided more than $183 million through more than 440 VIP grant projects across the Commonwealth.

    Visit PA.GOV/PCCD/GRANTS to View Active Funding Announcements
    Learn More About the Pennsylvania Gun Violence Symposium

    Harrisburg, PA — Eligible entities can now apply for more than $60 million in state funding to reduce gun violence and give youth access to safe and supportive spaces through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) and Building Opportunity Through Out-of-School Time (BOOST) Grants.

    “We know that the devastating impact of gun violence and other violent crimes continues to be felt too often by families and communities across Pennsylvania,” said Kirsten Kenyon, PCCD Executive Director. “We have heard from folks across the state about the positive difference this funding can make. It provides investments in safe, healthy programs that give young people opportunities to stay away from violence, while also providing communities already experiencing violence the support they need to rebuild and heal in the aftermath.”

     

    Under the Shapiro-Davis Administration, PCCD has provided more than $1 billion in funding through approximately 6,700 grants across the Commonwealth, including more than $183 million through more than 440 VIP grant projects and state funding for the VIP program has more than doubled and investments have reached communities all across the state— from Allegheny to Lancaster, Philadelphia to Mercer, and Snyder to Bradford counties.

    Earlier this week, Lt. Governor Austin Davis, PCCD Chair, and PCCD’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention brought together multidisciplinary teams from 14 counties and cities, along with leading local and national experts, for Pennsylvania’s first‑ever statewide Gun Violence Prevention Symposium in Harrisburg. Coming on the heels of several tragic incidents of gun violence across the Commonwealth, the convening focused on strengthening collaboration and advancing community‑driven strategies to prevent gun violence and save lives. 

    Read the Press Release & View Photos from The Pennsylvania Gun Violence Prevention Symposium

    While there is more work to be done to make our communities safer, sustained and strategic investments by the Shapiro‑Davis Administration are helping Pennsylvania make progress in reducing gun violence and supporting victims. Violent crime has fallen 16 percent statewide since 2023, including a 39 percent decrease in homicides, a 45 percent decrease in robberies involving a firearm, and a 25 percent reduction in firearm assaults.

    2026-27

    Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) + Building Opportunity Through Out-of-School Time (BOOST) Grants

    With approximately $60 million in state funding available, this initiative aims to support community-based strategies to reduce violence and expand programming for at-risk youth across the Commonwealth. Funding is available through two funding announcements— a VIP + BOOST grant initial funding announcement and a Statewide BOOST grant solicitation. 

    Learn More & Start Your Application at PA.GOV/PCCD/GRANTS

    Eligible Applicants

    Under the VIP and BOOST funding announcement, eligible applicants include:

    • Municipalities, counties and district attorney’s offices

    • Institutions of higher education 

    • School Districts and Career Technical Centers

    • Community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations

    • Libraries

    Eligible applicants are encouraged to review the funding announcement to see which categories of funding (VIP and/or BOOST) they are eligible to apply for. 

    Under the Statewide BOOST grant solicitation, eligible applicants are limited to statewide youth-serving nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)(4) status. 

    Eligible Activities

    VIP and BOOST funds can be used to support a wide range of eligible activities designed to reduce and respond to community violence, including but not limited to:  

    • (BOOST & VIP) Youth-focused prevention: Programs that support school-age youth before they become involved in violence, such as mentoring and after-school programs.

    • (VIP) Prevention: Initiatives that reduce risk across neighborhoods, like firearm safety campaigns, greening projects, and safe routes to school. 

    • (VIP) Intervention: Services that reach youth and/or adults at highest risk of being involved in violence, including street outreach efforts, focused deterrence approaches, and hospital‑based violence intervention programs (HVIPs); programs that support youth and young adults at highest risk; and programs that help people seek safety or prevent injuries and deaths from domestic violence and intimate partner violence, such as the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP).

    • (VIP) Reentry/Aftercare: Programs that help people successfully return to their families and communities after involvement with the juvenile or criminal justice system.

    • (VIP) Healing: Trauma-informed support for individuals who have experienced and/or witnessed gun violence, including victims’ services, mental and behavioral health supports, and counseling.

    • (VIP) Systems Transformation & Innovations: Efforts to strengthen community planning and collaboration, such as forming Violence Reduction Councils or piloting new anti-violence strategies. 

    Important Dates
    Eligible entities have until December 10, 2026, to apply through PCCD’s Egrants system. 

    Learn more 
    Questions about this funding announcement can be sent to ra-cd-vipgrants@pa.gov with “FY 2026-27 VIP + BOOST FA” in the subject line. Responses to all questions will be posted on PCCD’s Active Funding Announcements webpage.