AAA-ICDR Foundation® Provides Financial Support to Organizations Fighting the Rise in Violence & Conflict in the U.S.

Announcement

AAA-ICDR Foundation® Provides Financial Support to Organizations Fighting the Rise in Violence & Conflict in the U.S.

Foundation’s Rapid Response Fund, Established Last Year, Awards Grants to Community Based Initiatives Addressing Urgent Issues

Woman at protest holds sign that reads “We Need Change”
Woman at protest holds sign that reads “We Need Change”
Michael C. Clark 

American Arbitration Association
+1.212.716.3978
clarkm@adr.org

Laura Simpson

JConnelly
+1.973.713.8834
aaa@jconnelly.com

NEW YORK, N.Y.—February 11, 2022—The American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation® (AAA-ICDR Foundation) has awarded a second series of Rapid Response Funds, this series of grants went to community-based programs combating the increase in violence and conflict in the U.S.

The AAA-ICDR Foundation established the Rapid Response Fund last year to quickly support not-for- profit 501(c)(3) organizations which apply dispute resolution processes to tackle matters of pressing community and national concern. These current events, such as hate crime and violent conflict, require urgent attention, and the Rapid Response Fund enables the Foundation to assist initiatives addressing them without having to adhere to the normal annual grant cycle.

Grants awarded through the Rapid Response Fund are capped at $25,000 each. Potential grantees are identified by the Foundation and invited to apply. The first four grants, given last year, went to organizations fighting anti-Asian hate, and offering support to the country’s Asian-American and Pacific-Islander communities. To learn more about the Foundation’s Rapid Response Fund, please visit https://www.aaaicdrfoundation.org/rapid-response-fund.

“Now more than ever, we need to bring people together through non-violent, constructive dialogue. We are proud to be able to support not-for-profit organizations that are working on the ground to combat violence and de-escalate conflict in their own communities through alternative dispute resolution, when and where it is needed most,” said James R. Jenkins, Chair of the AAA-ICDR Foundation.

The latest recipients of grants via the AAA-ICDR Foundation’s Rapid Response Fund include:

  • BUILD, Inc.: The Foundation is awarding $25,000 to BUILD Inc., which has helped thousands of at-risk youths in Chicago to transform their lives. Today, BUILD connects more than 6,500 young people and families with adult mentors, who provide them with exposure to the arts, athletics, college and career preparation, entrepreneurship, leadership development, technology, and mental health programming. The pandemic, a spike in gun violence, and racial protests and unrest have placed BUILD’s youths and families at heightened risk, and in response, BUILD is significantly growing its mental health and outreach teams. The grant from the AAA-ICDR Foundation will help ensure BUILD’s clinical and community wellness department can provide the necessary services to those affected by violence, trauma, and incarceration. To learn more, please visithttps://www.buildchicago.org/.
  • Youth ALIVE!: The Foundation is providing $25,000 to fund Youth ALIVE!’s programs to reduce violence in Oakland, CA, including its 24/7 violent incident rapid response system, through which the organization’s violence interruption team conducts mediations among groups, gangs, and individuals. The funding will also allow Youth ALIVE!’s violence intervention staff to provide trauma-informed case management to more victims, beginning at their hospital bedsides, and discourage retaliation. In addition, Youth ALIVE!, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, will be able to use the grant funding to facilitate victim relocations, and train teens from the Oakland neighborhoods hit hardest by violence to become leaders and peer educators. For more information, please visit https://www.youthalive.org/.
  • CHRIS 180 Inc.: The Foundation is gifting $25,000 to Atlanta-based CHRIS 180, which provides smaller, specialized group homes for children and teenagers with behavioral and emotional challenges; an independent living program for helping young people who are aging out of foster care; shelters for homeless LGBTQ+ youths; mental health and substance abuse treatment programs for the community at large, among other services. Grant funding will enable CHRIS 180 to continue offering its community based violence intervention program, which utilizes the Cure Violence model to encourage a change in thinking among Atlanta residents who are at high risk of committing retaliatory violence. More details are available at https://chris180.org/.
  • Gangstas Making Astronomical Community Changes Inc. (GMACC Inc.): The Foundation’s $25,000 grant to GMACC will help the organization increase its presence throughout New York City neighborhoods ravaged by gun violence and gang activity. GMACC’s programs for residents of all ages are designed to encourage conflict mediation, and transform neighborhoods through positivity and activism, in order to promote public safety and decrease violence. GMACC will utilize the grant funding to further its mission to bring about a decline in gun-related incidents in New York City communities. For more information, please visit http://gangstamackin.com/.

“These four not-for-profit organizations demonstrate how ADR and dialogue can bring about positive change in communities afflicted with violence,” said Mr. Jenkins. “Every little bit of support can help resolve this rash of cruel incidents nationwide, and our Rapid Response Fund grants can enable these programs to expand their impact.”

To learn more about the Foundation’s mission to fund high-quality, innovative programs which advance    arbitration,    mediation,    and    other    ADR    processes,    visit https://www.aaaicdrfoundation.org/aboutus.

About the AAA-ICDR Foundation
The American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation (AAA- ICDR Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that is able to solicit donations and provide grants to fund a range of worthy causes that promote the Foundation’s wide-reaching mission, which is to support the use and improvement of dispute resolution processes in the United States and internationally.

Its focus includes fostering measures that reduce potential escalation, manage and resolve conflicts; increasing access to justice in and through alternative dispute resolution; and encouraging collaborative processes to resolve public conflicts.

The Foundation is a separate 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization from the AAA®, and the Foundation is not involved in any way in the oversight, administration or decision making of the AAA-ICDR® cases or in the maintenance of the AAA-ICDR's various rosters of arbitrators and mediators.

For more information on the AAA-ICDR Foundation, please visit: www.aaaicdrfoundation.org.

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