Too many neighborhoods in Baltimore continue to struggle with the threat of violent crime. More action is urgently needed to address this critical problem.

In 2021, Johns Hopkins University launched the JHU Innovation Fund for Community Safety, a four-year, $6 million commitment to support innovative, community-led programs designed to curb violence, including new programs and the expansion of existing ones.

With the conclusion of the first round of funding in fall 2024, Johns Hopkins is excited to announce an additional $6 million investment in the Innovation Fund for Community Safety for new projects in 2025 and beyond, building on the university’s longstanding commitment to helping to reduce violent crime in Baltimore. Learn more about the innovative projects supported by the first year of funding.

This second round of funding will support innovative approaches to creating safer communities for Baltimoreans, focusing on projects in three priority areas: improvements to community spaces, workforce development and wraparound social services, and violence prevention and interruption.

We believe that important solutions to public safety for the Baltimore community must come from the community and be implemented by city residents, with institutions like Johns Hopkins as active partners. Our faculty, students, and staff are eager to work in partnership with communities to realize this potential and find solutions to advance public safety.

During the first round of funding, the university partnered with 11 grassroots community organizations to advance their projects tackling the root causes of violence—from workforce training and after-school programming to harm reduction and outreach—and provided financial support, technical assistance, data collection and analysis, and research support.

To learn more about our first-round grantees, click below to read The Johns Hopkins University Innovation Fund for Community Safety Impact Report.