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Malachi Hernandez, Scott Davis and former U.S. President Barack Obama participate in a roundtable discussion with young people before speaking at the launch of My Brother’s Keeper Alliance at Lehman College May 4, 2015 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Susan Watts-Pool/Getty Images
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My Brother’s Keeper creates grant competition focused on youth violence and mentoring programs

Up to $500,000 in grants available for organizations working with Obama Foundation initiative

Kelley D. Evans @kelleysthrngrl
Topics:
Business Barack Obama

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    11:25 AMMy Brother’s Keeper Alliance, an initiative of the Obama Foundation, announced Monday that it is launching the MBK Community Challenge Competition for $500,000 in grants to help uplift boys and young men of color and other underserved youth.

    The program is aimed at finding solutions to youth violence and increasing the number of mentors for boys. In addition to the planning grants, it will provide winners with a team of experts and practitioners and access to more funds to hire full-time local project leads.

    “Four years ago, President Obama launched the My Brother’s Keeper initiative, and since then hundreds of communities have stepped up and shown up for their boys and young men of color in extraordinary ways. We are excited to let these communities know the Obama Foundation remains committed to their success, and provide some tools and resources to help them accelerate the pace of impact and inspire action nationwide,” said Michael D. Smith, director of MBK Alliance and Youth Opportunity Programs at the Obama Foundation.

    MBK Alliance is especially dedicated to improving the lives of children in the city of Chicago, where Obama began his political career. A Chicago nonprofit will be selected in the inaugural competition, and other Chicago nonprofits will have the chance to compete for mini-grants of up to $50,000.

    The organization will release eligibility requirements and a technical assistance schedule in the coming weeks and will begin accepting applications in March. Interested individuals and organizations are encouraged to sign up to receive updates.

    Kelley Evans is a digital producer at Andscape. She is a food passionista, helicopter mom and an unapologetic Southerner who spends every night with the cast of The Young and the Restless by way of her couch.