Grand Rapids asks residents to pitch violence-prevention ideas, with up to $10,000 for five winners

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids is again asking the people closest to the problem how to cut down on violence, and it is putting money behind the best answers. The city’s Safe Alliances for Everyone Task Force, known as SAFE, put out the call Monday for its next Pitch and Highlight Night, according to a city announcement.

Nonprofits and individuals can apply. Those picked to present will get five minutes each to explain how their idea would reduce violence, create positive opportunities for young people, or address the mental health issues facing youth in the city. Five winners will receive up to $10,000 apiece and will partner with the city to carry out their plans, the announcement said.

The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, through an online form on the city’s website, which is also linked from the SAFE Task Force page. The pitch night itself is Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the MLK Park Community Center, 900 Fuller Ave. SE.

The city set out a few ground rules. Projects need to work on violence or gun violence in Grand Rapids, focus on young people ages 15 to 24, and take place between March and September 2027.

Latesha Lipscomb, who manages civilian violence prevention and intervention for the city’s Office of Oversight and Public Accountability, said the idea is to back leaders who already live and work in the neighborhoods. “Pitch Night gives residents a meaningful opportunity to shape safety in Grand Rapids,” she said in the announcement.

This is not the first round. Grand Rapids Magazine reported last October that the task force held a similar pitch night at Pilgrim Rest Church on Martin Luther King Jr. Street SE, also with five $10,000 awards. That call was aimed at young people ages 12 to 24, a wider range than the one the city lists this year.

Sources:
City of Grand Rapids, “Grand Rapids calls for community ideas to reduce violence,” Oct. 5, 2026, https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/city-news/posts/grand-rapids-calls-for-community-ideas-to-reduce-violence/
City of Grand Rapids, SAFE Task Force page, https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/departments/oversight-public-accountability/cure-violence/safe-task-force/
Grand Rapids Magazine, “City hosts pitch night to fight gun violence,” Oct. 8, 2025, https://www.grmag.com/breaking/city-hosts-pitch-night-to-fight-gun-violence/
Photo: Gpwitteveen, “Martin Luther King Park,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), cropped and color-corrected; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martin_Luther_King_Park.jpg

Grand Rapids

Tags: Grand Rapids · News · Parks and Recreation