JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The goal was to fund programs that keep kids off the streets during the summer and hopefully reduce crime in the process. The City of Jacksonville set aside $300,000 as grant money for non-profits to fund summer programs, but one of those non-profits said the money never came.
The individual grants through the Safety and Crime Reduction Commission were worth $8,571 and were awarded to 35 different non-profits. However, Skytopian Umbrella, which is a nonprofit that introduces kids to opportunities through new technology, said that after they were approved for a grant they've had to continue the summer program without the funding.
"One of our main missions is to close the digital divide so we introduce kids to augmented reality t-shirts, levitation devices, hologram devices," said Greg Rogers.
After serving in the Navy for 8 years, Rogers became the President of Skylyfe Inc and oversees the non-profit Skytopian Umbrella, which introduces kids to emerging technology with the hopes of keeping them off the streets in the summer.
"We teach kids how to create their own sneakers, their own brands and really monetize some of the systems we have out here using technology," said Rogers.
So he jumped at the chance to apply for a grant through the city's Safety and Crime Reduction Commission to help fund his summer program.
"Our goal is to get these dollars in your hand so that we can encourage people in this community to use these resources," said Councilmember Rahman Johnson back on March 1st.
A document provided by the city showed all 35 of the non-profits that were approved for grant funding from the commission. Number 30 on the list is Skytopian Umbrella. But with just weeks to go before his program is over, he still hasn't received the funding he was approved for.
"I did all of the required paperwork, I went to the orientation, I turned my paperwork in on time, did my budget," said Rogers, "from there it was pretty much crickets, I just got the supply registration portal approval yesterday and I applied for that back in April."
First Coast News reached out to the city to check on the delay to the distribution of the grant funding and were sent a statement, which reads:
"Our Grants Division has tried to contact Skytopian to fix their registration in our procurement system. we are following up with them and also internally."
"I'm just sitting here waiting, but that doesn't stop the work from being done," said Rogers.
Rogers said that if the funding does come through in time he hopes to use it for a 3D printing workshop for kids. He hopes to continue to try and make a positive impact for kids in Jacksonville.
To learn more about Skytopian Umbrella, visit their website by clicking here.