The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York is now accepting applications for the second cohort of Imagine Nonviolence (IN), an initiative to support community-based organizations that are working toward safer, healthier communities through projects to raise awareness of firearm safety, reduce the risk of firearm injury, prevent gun violence, and provide resources.
Applications Due:
Monday, June 23, 2025 by 11:59 pm
View a PDF version of the full RFP here.
View the informational webinar recording here.
Firearm violence is a public health crisis. Gun injuries are now the leading cause of death for children and teens ages 1‑17, surpassing car crashes for the first time in two decades. Firearm injury happens in many forms: self-harm, intimate partner violence, unintentional injury, and community violence, among others. The issue of gun violence in the western and central New York communities is extensive. While it is known that gun violence rates locally and across the country and the region are going down, there were still 1,512 incidents of violent crimes involving a firearm across the 16 counties of western and central New York in 2023. In the regions, the two counties with the highest rates were Erie County with 832 incidents (55%) and Onondaga County with 265 incidents (17.5%).
Pregnant and birthing people, young children, older adults, and their caregivers are often left out of the intervention strategies when it comes to firearm injury prevention. Evidence suggests this needs to change.
- About one-third of American children live in a home with firearms, and of those households, 43% contain at least one unlocked firearm.
- Pregnant women aged 15 through 46 years are more than twice as likely as their non-pregnant counterparts to die from a firearm-related injury.
- 46% of U.S. adults over age 50 say they live in a household with a gun.
Two Options for Applicants
The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York invites proposals for Imagine Nonviolence. Applicants should choose from the following two opportunities and funding levels.
Close the Gap
Close the Gap will provide funding up to $5,000 to existing firearm safety and/or gun violence prevention programs currently receiving other grant funding to support their work. Close the Gap funding must be used to strengthen the delivery of an existing program and cover expenses that cannot be charged to the program’s existing funding source(s).
Expand the Reach
Expand the Reach will provide up to $15,000 to support projects working to reduce gun violence, prevent firearm-related injuries, and increase safety for pregnant and birthing people, young children, and/or older adults and their caregivers.
Deadline for Submission:
Monday, June 23, 2025 by 11:59 pm
View a PDF version of the full RFP here.
Applications must be completed and submitted online at: https://hfwcny.fluxx.io
View the informational webinar recording here.
Please direct all questions to imaginenonviolence@hfwcny.org
About the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York
The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York began in 2002 with a mission to improve the health and health care of the people and communities of western and central New York. Based in Buffalo, NY, with a second office in Syracuse, NY, the Foundation serves the following 16 counties:
- Western New York:
Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming - Central New York:
Cayuga, Cortland, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Tompkins
The Health Foundation’s vision is a healthy central and western New York where racial and socioeconomic equity are prioritized so all people can reach their full potential and achieve equitable health outcomes.
To achieve outcomes that last, we work together with community partners to develop, implement, and evaluate sustainable programs that make a positive difference in the lives of children up to age five and older adults.
What Awardees Can Expect
The Health Foundation will learn alongside community partners to identify innovative ways to reduce firearm injuries and exposure to gun violence. We will share what we learn with providers, funders, and community members and contribute to changing the narrative around firearm violence.
Successful applicants are expected to participate in a virtual kickoff event on November 12, 2025. To build community momentum and promote collaborative growth, all awardees are asked to participate in a learning community facilitated by the Foundation. (Learning community dates are included in the table below.) Learning community activities, developed based on awardee feedback, will allow organizations to connect with and learn from each other and other experts as these initiatives are developed and implemented. All grantees will be asked to provide periodic grant reports, track and report performance measures, and participate in program evaluation activities.
Initiative Timeline and Important Dates
Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 12:00 pm: Informational webinar and RFP released
Tuesday, May 13, 2025, through Tuesday, May 20, 2025: Submit questions to imaginenonviolence@hfwcny.org by 5/20/25 for inclusion in the FAQ document.
Friday, May 23, 2025: FAQ document released
Monday, June 23, 2025: RFP submissions due
June 30, 2025 – August 5, 2025: Foundation staff to conduct site visits as needed
Week of September 22, 2025: Awards announced
Friday, October 17, 2025, 9:00 am – 11:00 am: Virtual Evaluation Workshop
Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Virtual kickoff event and grant contracts begin
April 2026 & July 2026: Learning community meetings (one in-person, one virtual)
Friday, November 6, 2026, 9:00 am – 11:00 am: Capstone event
More About the Funding Opportunities
CLOSE THE GAP
Grant funding is a tremendous resource, but often does not cover certain costs such as training supplies, partner stipends, participant incentives, etc. Close the Gap will provide grants of up to $5,000 to organizations in western and central New York to help increase program effectiveness and reach by supplementing grant funds from other sources.
Supplemental funding provided is intended to be utilized within 12 months to support programs that receive grants from other funding sources to support their gun violence prevention work.
To apply for Close the Gap, applicants must:
- operate within one or more of the 16 counties the Health Foundation serves (see pg. 2),
- be a non-profit with 501(c)3 status or affiliated with one who can receive and manage grant funds on their behalf, and
- currently be managing a grant-funded program that addresses gun violence and risk of injury from a firearm.
While all eligible organizations are invited to apply, preference will be given to organizations not previously funded through Imagine Nonviolence: Close the Gap.
How to apply for CLOSE THE GAP:
Eligible organizations are invited to complete and submit the full application through Fluxx (https://hfwcny.fluxx.io), the Foundation’s online system, no later than Monday, June 23, 2025. Applicants who do not already have an account in Fluxx can establish one.
The following questions are included in the online application:
- Describe the organization leading the program, including the mission, a brief description of services offered, and the population(s) served.
- Describe the program for which you are seeking supplemental funding.
- Identify the program cost not covered by existing grant funding and how Imagine Nonviolence funds will be used.
- Explain how this supplemental funding will help improve the overall effectiveness of your program.
EXPAND THE REACH
Expand the Reach will provide grants of up to $15,000 to organizations in western and central New York to either create new firearm prevention projects focused on pregnant and birthing people, children under age five, older adults, and their caregivers, or expand an existing intervention by introducing it to these population groups. Types of projects the Foundation is interested in supporting include (but are not limited to) those that will:
- Expand existing firearm violence prevention work to include a focus on pregnant and birthing people, children under age five, and/or older adults and their caregivers,
- Expand existing violence prevention work focused on pregnant and birthing people, children under age five, and/or older adults and their caregivers to include a dedicated focus on firearms,
- train clinicians, doulas, community health workers, and other service providers to screen for firearm safety and provide resources to increase safety for their clients/patients,
- educate community members about the dangers of unsecured firearms in the home and provide resources to increase safety,
- address firearm injury prevention for older adults with cognitive and/or physical impairments and their caregivers, and/or
- address the safe transfer of firearms due to physical and/or cognitive decline or after death.
To encourage innovative thinking and provide a national context for this work, a list of helpful resources and promising programs is included at the end of this document.
Expand the Reach is intended to provide twelve months of funding to support small-scale stand-alone or pilot initiatives.
To apply for Expand the Reach, applicants must:
- operate within one or more of the 16 counties the Health Foundation serves,
- be a non-profit with 501(c)3 status or affiliated with one that can receive and manage grant funds on their behalf, and
- currently or plan to work with pregnant and birthing people, young children, and/or older adults and their caregivers, or partner with organizations that work with these populations.
Funds may not be used to support mergers and acquisitions, building or capital projects, drug development, or direct grants to individuals. Foundation staff may request site visits with select applicants after receiving their proposals.
How to apply for EXPAND THE REACH:
Eligible organizations are invited to complete and submit the full application through Fluxx (https://hfwcny.fluxx.io), the Foundation’s online system, no later than Monday, June 23, 2025. Applicants who do not already have an account in Fluxx can establish one.
Expand the Reach applicants must complete the online application and upload a project budget. (A budget template is provided in Fluxx.)
The following questions are included in the online application:
- Describe the organization leading the project, including the mission, a brief description of services offered, and population(s) served.
Note: The grantee must be a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Applicants who do not meet this requirement may partner with a 501(c)3 to serve as the fiscal agent.
- Describe the project for which you are requesting funding. Include an outline of the proposed activities and a brief timeline.
- Will this grant enhance an existing or introduce a new project? If an existing project, please provide a brief background of the current work and how this funding will enhance it, including the new population groups you will work with.
- What are the needs/gaps you are trying to address with the proposed project or enhancement?
- Describe the expected impact of your project. Please include project goals and expected benefits for participants.
- If you do not currently serve pregnant and birthing people, young children, and older adults and their caregivers, how do you plan to reach those groups?
- If you do not have experience or expertise in firearm safety and/or gun violence prevention, how do you plan to gain the required knowledge?
- Please list any additional partner(s) you plan to engage for this grant. Describe how the partner(s) will enhance and support the work. If you do not know specific names of partner(s), please describe the types of partners you plan to engage.
- How will you engage and reach community members, and how will you encourage input and feedback from them?
Helpful Resources and Promising Programs
- Agree to Agree Campaign
- This Ad Council initiative is focused on finding common ground to reduce the impact of gun violence on children and teens across all communities in the U.S.
- Alzheimer’s Association San Diego
- The Alzheimer’s Association of San Diego provides free gun locks to families impacted by dementia who have firearms in the home to prevent accidents and injuries.
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) – Gun Safety Campaign Toolkit
- Recognizing gun safety as a public health issue, the AAP toolkit offers common-sense solutions that are proven to reduce preventable injuries and deaths of children.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
- ACOG supports an evidence-based, public health approach to gun violence that emphasizes prevention, education, and safety.
- Be Smart for Kids
- Secure Gun Storage Saves Kids’ Lives – Be SMART is a framework that parents, caretakers, and community leaders can follow to help keep their communities safe.
- BulletPoints Project
- BulletPoints provides clinical tools for firearm injury prevention created with an interdisciplinary group of clinicians, gun owners, public health researchers, etc.
- “Firearm Injuries During Pregnancy in the USA” – Luster, et al. (2023)
- Researchers propose firearm injury prevention strategies for pregnant women.
- Firearm Life Plan
- Firearm Life Plan resources help people think about questions related to their firearms and protect their families from making difficult decisions without guidance.
- Gun Safety Alliance – “Responsibility as Common Ground” Report
- The report highlights the common ground between gun owners and non-owners and seeks to align our conversations, promote common purpose, and inspire effective action to reduce gun violence in the United States.
- SAFE – Scrubs Addressing the Firearm Epidemic
- SAFE provides evidence-based tools and resources to healthcare providers to support safe patients and communities. The Clinicians and Firearms curriculum is for providers to understand the current state of gun violence in the United States, basic firearm terminology, and what to do to prevent firearm injury in our patients.
- Shaping Narratives for Firearm Violence Prevention
- A guide for advocates as a roadmap to lift solutions and amplify messages from the communities most affected by the problem.
