Five Funder Collaboratives—and a New Public-Private Partnership—Supporting Violence Prevention
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Prompted by grassroots movements, funders are shifting from a punitive to a preventive approach to ending violence, looking at root causes and supporting community solutions. Funders are also coming together in collaborative efforts to leverage their impact in supporting organizations working to prevent all forms of violence. Here are a few of the funder collaboratives, and a new public-private partnership, to know in the violence prevention space.
The Collective Future Fund
The Collective Future Fund emerged amid the #MeToo movement with a focus on sexual violence and quickly evolved, embracing an intersectional philosophy and making grants to organizations including the Fund for Trans Generations, Justice for Migrant Women, the HEAL Project, Vida AfroLatina, and many others that are working toward healing, safe communities and a future free of violence. Donor partners include CBS, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Open Society Foundations, the Ford and Nathan Cummings foundations, and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund.
The Fund for the Me Too Movement and Allies
The Fund for the Me Too Movement and Allies supports community-centered efforts to prevent and end gender-based violence. It’s housed at the New York Women’s Foundation and brings together funders from across the country. Funding partners include CBS, the inFaith Community Foundation, and the Pinpoint and Nathan Cummings foundations.
Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities
The Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities is a funder collaborative investing in community-based strategies to reduce gun violence in Chicago. More than 50 foundations and donors are involved. They’ve given $90 million since 2016, with a focus on evidence-based, community-led solutions. In 2022, their Chicago Fund will make rapid-response grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 for community-led programs and events in 24 Chicago neighborhoods.
The Hope and Heal Fund
The Hope and Heal Fund brings together public health, racial equity, and community-based approaches to prevent gun violence in California. Donor partners include the California Endowment and the Akonadi, Heising-Simons, and Horizons foundations. While the Hope and Heal Fund does not accept unsolicited LOIs or proposals, there is an online form for grantseekers to request more information.
Fund for a Safer Future
Fund for a Safer Future is the largest funder collaborative supporting efforts to prevent gun violence in the United States, with a focus on policy reform. Members include the Annie E. Casey, Heising-Simons, Joyce, and Morningstar foundations, as well as the Kendeda Fund and the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. The fund has been in operation for 10 years, and reports having made $15 million in grants nationwide, and leveraging another $107 million in aligned grantmaking by members. They support advocacy, research, education, and community organizing to reduce gun injuries and death.
Plus: A Unique Public-Private Partnership involving Philanthropy
The Community Violence Intervention Collaborative is not a collaborative fund like those listed above, but bears mentioning as an important new public-private partnership involving philanthropic leaders in the violence prevention space. The CVI Collaborative is a Biden administration initiative to support jurisdictions that are using public funding for community-based approaches to preventing violence. Philanthropic organizations, including some of the leading donors in the areas of criminal justice reform and violence prevention, have been invited to participate. They’ll do things like provide assistance and support local nonprofits to scale their community-violence-intervention programs. Funders involved include OSF, the California Endowment, and the Annie E. Casey, Ford, Heising-Simons, Joyce, Kellogg, Kresge, and MacArthur foundations, as well as the Emerson Collective and Arnold Ventures. Microsoft is the sole corporate grantmaker involved.
