The City of St. Louis Office of Violence Prevention, in partnership with the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, is accepting proposals from qualified nonprofit organizations for 2027-2028 programs that reduce crime among at-risk youth ages 11 through 24. Potential annual awards are up to $100,000, but a respondent may not request more than 25% of its most recent annual operating budget. The City particularly encourages smaller organizations with annual operating budgets between $50,000 and $200,000.
Funded programming must be delivered in the City of St. Louis for City residents and should reduce the likelihood of youth involvement in criminal activity. Eligible specialty areas include academic supports, health and wellness, sports, arts and culture, post-secondary success, evening or weekend programming, and other innovative approaches. The RFP gives preference to programs focused on violent crime, gun and gang activity and to specified St. Louis neighborhoods. Eligible direct costs include program staff, fringe benefits, equipment, direct-service facility costs, program supplies, communications, professional development and transportation. Indirect costs may not exceed 10% of total salary plus fringe compensation. The RFP does not state a mandatory applicant match or cost-share requirement.
Proposals are due October 2, 2026 at 5:00 PM CDT through the City’s online submission form. Required proposal materials include the program narrative, City business-license or exemption and tax-remittance verification, three references, staff qualifications and organization chart, a detailed budget using the provided template with budget justification and 12-month timeline, the most recent Form 990, independent audit or certified financial statement or an explanatory letter if unavailable, current and prior board-approved annual operating budgets, and applicable collaboration documents. The RFP also incorporates the City’s Living Wage declaration, unauthorized-alien employee affidavit and Anti-Discrimination Against Israel Act affidavit; awarded respondents must satisfy insurance and other contract requirements.
Atlas Opportunity Score: 84/100. N9+ Fit: 18/100 conditional. QC Healthcare / other Dr. Miltie fit: 5/100 conditional. A health and wellness proposal may include durable equipment, but the controlling purpose is youth crime prevention. A Nonagon N9+ device and platform use case would require an applicant-created program model that directly connects clinical or health-access activity to the violence-prevention objective and should not be assumed allowable without City confirmation. Dr. Miltie, LLC is not cleared as a direct respondent because this RFP is aimed at nonprofit youth-service organizations with relevant program-delivery experience, references and City compliance requirements.
September 23, 2026 Q&A update: The City’s official Questions and Responses document confirms that a qualified nonprofit may subcontract with a for-profit education or technology provider, with a proper MOU in place at application. Reasonable subcontractor costs may be budgeted as Other Direct or Consultant costs with a detailed budget and justification. The City also confirms that a non-nonprofit program operator may apply through a qualifying nonprofit fiscal agent as the lead applicant, with the nonprofit supplying the required organizational documentation and serving as the City’s contracting and reporting counterparty. The 25% request cap is calculated from the lead nonprofit’s most recent board-approved annual operating budget. Applicants should use the City’s document-upload application link identified in the Q&A and review the full Q&A before submission.