Bradenton Police Department Offer Grants for Safety, Crime Prevention
By Lisa Neff
The window is open for Bradenton organizations to seek grants to fund innovative community safety, crime prevention and drug abuse education efforts.
The Bradenton Police Department is accepting applications until July 31 for its annual Florida Contraband Forfeiture Grant Program.
Police Chief Josh Cramer, announcing the opportunity in mid-July, said the department had awarded more than $134,000 through the program since 2018.
The funding comes from state forfeiture proceeds, primarily from narcotics-related seizures, said BPD public information manager Meredith Censullo.
Project categories eligible for grants include:
- Neighborhood safety;
- Crime prevention;
- Drug abuse education;
- Drug abuse prevention;
- Drug abuse treatment;
- School resource officer programs.
Not every group can apply. Eligible organizations must hold a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) designation, provide services within Bradenton’s city limits and have a federal tax identification number.
Organizations don’t need to have matching funds to seek grants and there are no restrictions on the amount of funding an applicant may request.
However, there is a one application per organization rule.
Also, the money comes with strings: grant funds cannot cover salaries, food, travel, video surveillance systems or costs tied to newsletters, flyers or social media.
Also, groups that owe money to the city or that failed to properly account for a past forfeiture award are shut out until those issues are resolved.
Censullo said on average the BPD receives 10-12 applications in a funding round.
The applications are vetted by a committee that consists of the chief, the assistant chief and the police legal advisor. Beyond meeting basic eligibility rules, applications are scored on factors like community participation, neighborhood impact and how
well the proposal is planned and budgeted. The chief has final say on awards, and that decision cannot be appealed.
Recipients since 2018 have included the Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County, Bradenton Gladiators Football, Bradenton Police Explorer Post No. 1004, Drug Free Manatee, Florida Cultural Group, Hand Up to Victory, Humane Society of Manatee County, Making an Impact, Manatee Children’s Services, Manatee County Girls Club, Inc./Just For Girls, New Manatee Broncos, Pace Center for Girls, Replay Outreach,
Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School, Special Olympics Florida, United Community Centers/13th Avenue Dream Center and West Bradenton Crime Watch.
Censullo said, “Examples of how the grant money has been used include before-/after-school and summer programs for children and at-risk girls, youth sports programs, drug-abuse prevention programs, school clubs to promote leadership and school and neighborhood safety, sports training for children and adults with disabilities and programs for children interested in a law-enforcement career.”
She also said a majority of programs funded are operated by repeat applicants.
Applications must be submitted by 4 p.m. July 31 — either mailed or hand-delivered to BPD headquarters at 100 10th St. W., Bradenton, or emailed to Elba Viruet, who is fielding questions at elba.viruet@bradentonpd.com or 941-932-9357.
Applications can be downloaded at bradentonpd.com/forfeituregrantprogram.