Hermanowski Family Foundation Initial Request Form

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Organization Name: Friends for a NonViolent World (FNVW)
Legal Name (if Different): Friends for a Non-Violent World (FNVW)
Also Known As:
Mailing Address: 393 N. Dunlap St, Suite 450E
City: St. Paul
State: MN
Postal Code: 55104
Main Phone: 651-917-0383
Main Fax:
Organization Website: fnvw.org
Employer ID Number: 41-1403496
Organization Tax Status: 501(c)3

Proposal Information

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Today’s Date: 3/29/2024
Requested Amount: 10,000

Project Title: Bolstering Resilience in Twin Cities Youth through "Alternatives to Violence" Tools, Practice, and Mindset
Project Description:

FNVW seeks funding to expand access for vulnerable youth in the Twin Cities to our Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) workshops, which offer life-changing tools and strategies for practicing nonviolent ways of living. The case for reaching and empowering more area youth was underscored by the 2020 flashpoint unrest in Minneapolis. FNVW believes growing the availability of AVP workshops that provide positive adult and peer relationships for youth of color disproportionately affected by violence is a critical priority.

Background: Founded in prisons and developed from experiences of people who’ve been incarcerated, AVP workshops cultivate participants’ innate power to positively transform themselves and their community. Since 1994, FNVW has offered workshops in federal, state, and county prisons and jails across Minnesota. In 2017, first-year efforts to adapt AVP programming for youth in Santa Barbara schools produced strong results: suspensions reduced by 88%, truancy by 42%, fights by 64%, officer referral reduction by 33%, while grades improved by 19%.

Twin Cities Youth: In 2023, Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department provided first-time funding for youth-centered AVP workshops in Minnesota. Facilitators lead exercises, building community in groups of 12–20 over two days. Participants and facilitators explore how injustice, prejudice, frustration, and anger can lead to aggressive behavior and violence. Guided through deep personal reflections and activities, youth learn and practice ways to resolve conflict nonviolently.

Impact: We aim to reach 150 Twin Cities youth in 2024. With support from the Charles and Joan Hermanowski Family Foundation, in 2025 we would reach over 36 youth with three full AVP workshops. (Cost for each workshop is approximately $3,450.) A percentage of these youth will become workshop facilitators, developing a core of empowered young people whose leadership can expand the program and showcase for the nation and funders the real-world viability of nonviolence.

Total Project Budget: 10,350

Other Funding
Sources For The Project (Committed & Potential): FNVW offers alternatives to violence workshops for youth through partnerships with foundations, governments, and individual donors.

Project Duration: Alternatives to violence youth workshops began in Minnesota 2024. Funding from the Hermanowski Family Foundation will support the continuation of this project in 2025.
Geographical Area Served: Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN
Age Group To Be Served: 10-21

Contact Information

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Contact Prefix (Mr,Mrs etc.): Ms.
Contact First Name: Leah
Contact Last Name: Robshaw Robinson
Contact Title: Executive Director
Contact Phone: 651-917-0383
Contact Email: connect@fnvw.org