The City of Memphis has awarded $600,000 in Safer Communities Grants to support a network of 34 local nonprofit organizations working to prevent violence, expand mentoring and outreach, and bolster community safety across the city.
The funding, administered through the Joint Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement, aims to strengthen local partners that provide mentoring, mental health services, crisis response and street outreach in neighborhoods disproportionately affected by violence. Awards were made in prevention and intervention categories to reach residents at varying levels of risk, officials said.
“Every one of these organizations helps make our neighborhoods safer and stronger,” Mayor Paul Young said in a statement. “Their work supports people in critical moments and helps Memphis rise toward greater stability and peace.”
Councilwoman Janika White, chair of the Public Safety Committee, noted that the grants reflect a broader view of public safety that includes prevention, opportunity and community trust.
“As chair of the Public Safety Committee, I am encouraged to see city dollars supporting community partners who are close to the work and close to the people they serve,” White also said in a statement. “Public safety is not just about response. It is about prevention, opportunity and trust, and these grants help us move in that direction together.”
The grant cycle runs from Nov. 1, 2025, through Sept. 1, 2026, and includes structured training, data reporting and citywide convenings to encourage accountability and measurable impact, the city said.
While many of the nonprofits receiving funding did not issue formal statements at the time of the award, some shared reflections on social media about the value of this type of support.
One recipient, We Fight Monsters Ltd., posted a picture from City Hall holding its Safer Communities Grant certificate on social media, describing the award as “proof that when you show up, love people well and stay planted even when the ground feels hard, something does grow.”
Founded as a coalition of volunteers — including former military, law enforcement, people with lived experience of addiction and trafficking, and community members — We Fight Monsters focuses on confronting human and narcotics trafficking, supporting survivors and reclaiming neighborhoods through a blend of outreach, recovery and restoration efforts.
The post continued: “Safer communities aren’t built overnight — they’re built one relationship, one home, one act of service at a time. Today was a reminder that seeds planted in faith never return void. Grateful to the City of Memphis, to every partner who locked arms with us, and to every person who believed in this mission long before it ever had a name.
“Never underestimate the power of a planted seed,” the post concluded. “It just might change a city.”
The Safer Communities Grants program is part of the city’s broader strategy to invest in organizations deeply rooted in the communities they serve and to strengthen the capacity of those partners as they work to prevent violence and build stability.
2025 Safer Communities Grant recipients
The following organizations received funding in this cycle:
- Literacy Mid-South
- Girls Incorporated of Memphis
- Christopher A. Pugh II Center
- Memphis in May International Festival Inc.
- SchoolSeed
- Project STAND
- Peer Power Foundation
- The Dennis Price Jr. Foundation
- Streets Ministries Inc.
- City Leadership
- SafeWays Incorporated
- Dress for Success Memphis
- Memphis Thoroughbreds Track Club Inc.
- We Fight Monsters Ltd.
- 2Unique Community Salvation Foundation
- Operation Taking Back 901
- Transitional Reentry Adult Program (TRAP)
- Customized Veterans Group
- BLOC Squad Memphis
- Samaritan Counseling Center of the Mid South
- BSOY Foundation
- Regional One Health
- South Side Wildcats
- UniverCity Family CDC
- Bevo Boys Fitness Academy
- Carpenter Art Garden
- Heal the Hood Foundation of Memphis
- Legacy of Legends CDC
- Stop the Killing, Cut the Beef CDC
- Boys to Men of Memphis Mentoring Program
- Divine Divas Academy Inc.
- Hope House Day Care Center Inc.
- Mane Up Memphis Inc.
- Greater Whitehaven Economic Redevelopment Corporation
- Golden Institute
For more information about the program and city investments in community safety, visit memphistn.gov/jointoffice.
