CHARLOTTE — City Manager Marcus Jones’ proposed FY27 budget does not provide any funding for Safe Alliance, the area’s leading nonprofit dedicated to sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking survivors.
The group has been receiving funding for 20 years, according to spokesperson Sarah-Kate Pease.
The group received just under $400,000 in each of the city’s past two budgets. This year, Safe Alliance is slated to receive nothing in this year’s $4.5 billion budget.
Safe Alliance used most of the $400K for its Victim Assistance Court program, which helps survivors “receive help filing and renewing Domestic Violence 50B protective orders and 50C protective orders for sexual assault, court advocacy and accompaniment, pro bono legal representation, and ongoing support during court proceedings.”
The remainder of the funding went toward Safe Alliance’s 24-hour hotline.
According to a spokesperson for the city of Charlotte, the city awards funding to nonprofits based on a competitive application process.
New and existing organizations are invited to apply each year for a one-year funding contract. This year, 39 nonprofits applied for funding, totaling $6.2 million.
Staff members for the city evaluated and ranked applications using seven established criteria: alignment with city council strategic priority, program design and delivery, impact and performance measures, financial health and budget, organizational capacity and governance, community needs, and population served and sustainability plan.
A spokesperson for the city says that, based on the applications received and the funding available, the seven top-scoring organizations were included in the budget for funding.
They received a total allocation of $891,012, which was a 9.7 percent increase from last year.
According to the budget, the organizations set to receive funding are Carolina Youth Coalition, Community Culinary School, Crisis Assistance Ministry, Housing Collaborative, ParentChild+, Per Scholas, Inc., and Roof Above.
At Monday night’s public forum, multiple community advocates called on Charlotte City Councilmembers to restore funding for Safe Alliance.
The Charlotte City Council will discuss possible modifications to the budget on Monday.
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