UPI Receives $8M Grant from Ballmer Group

Urban Peace Institute is proud to partner with Ballmer Group to implement the LA Peacemakers Initiative that will create safety in communities disproportionately impacted by violence. Ballmer Group awarded UPI a pivotal $8 million grant to fund the initiative over the next two years.

Peacemakers are essential to community safety. In 2022, UPI released the LA Peace Plan calling for an increase in the number of intervention workers working on the frontlines to reduce violence and maintain peace. The Peace Plan stressed the need for a joint public-private investment strategy to scale community-based efforts to transform public safety in Los Angeles. Ballmer Group’s investment is a major victory toward realizing the full implementation of the LA Peacemakers Initiative.

Through the LA Peacemakers Initiative, UPI will strengthen a professionalized workforce and set community safety standards for an expanded CVI infrastructure in Los Angeles. This includes five pillars of work, including: 1) Capacity building for violence reduction and community-based safety; 2) Training community-based safety workforce; 3) Community safety and justice advocacy; 4) Community-based safety and justice transformation policy; and 5) Evaluation data and research.

"This is a groundbreaking investment in the CVI workforce that demonstrates a philanthropic commitment to saving lives. UPI extends deep gratitude to the Ballmer Group for leading the way to a robust, sustainable community-based safety infrastructure in Los Angeles." - Fernando Rejón, Executive Director of Urban Peace Institute