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June 23, 2021                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Leading Philanthropies Support President Biden's New Collaborative to

Reduce Violence and Increase Public Safety in 15 Cities

 

Washington, DC –– Today, more than a dozen philanthropies joined together to support President Biden’s new Community Violence Intervention Collaborative that aims to strengthen and scale community-led and evidence-based interventions in 15 jurisdictions to reduce violence, promote safety and justice, and bolster community healing.

 

Philanthropies supporting this effort include Arnold Ventures, Ballmer Group, The California Endowment, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Emerson Collective, Ford Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, Joyce Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kresge Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, Open Society Foundations, and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. 

 

Committed to reducing violence and increasing public safety, the Biden-Harris Administration has substantially expanded funding for community violence interventions through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), 26 existing programs across federal agencies, and a proposed $5.2 billion allocation in the American Jobs Plan (AJP). Through the newly formed Community Violence Intervention Collaborative, the White House is convening 15 jurisdictions committing to use a portion of their ARP funding, or other public funding, to increase investment in their community-led violence intervention infrastructure, including youth workforce programs and other violence reduction strategies this summer.

 

These jurisdictions are: Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Baton Rouge, LA; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; King County, WA; Los Angeles, CA; Memphis, TN; Minneapolis & St. Paul, MN; Newark, NJ; Rapid City, SD; St. Louis, MO; Philadelphia, PA; and Washington, DC.

 

Participating philanthropies will support this collaborative effort  by deploying experts to provide training and technical assistance, identify best practices, integrate proven and innovative public-health approaches, and help local community-based organizations scale intervention efforts this summer and beyond. 

 

The Administration will convene meetings with officials from these communities, facilitate peer-to-peer learning, and provide technical assistance through multiple federal agencies. This effort will support both effective and promising strategies that reduce violence and strengthen community-based infrastructure to enhance public safety for children, families, and communities and to advance equity. 

 

Violence is a public-health epidemic that has a devastating impact on children, youth, and families, disproportionately harming Black and Latino communities. Research has found community violence intervention programs to be highly effective, reducing violence by as much as 60%. Evaluations show that one such program in the South Bronx reduced shootings by 63 percent and injuries by 37 percent, and another helped Oakland achieve five consecutive years of reductions in fatal and non-fatal shootings. These programs are effective because they leverage trusted messengers who work directly with individuals most likely to commit violence, intervene in conflicts, and connect people to social, health and wellness, and economic services to reduce the likelihood of violence as an answer to conflict.

 

Hyphen, a nonprofit intermediary, will anchor and lead this effort; Hyphen facilitates high-impact public-philanthropic partnerships and collaborations to address the most urgent issues facing the nation and advance long-term solutions to achieve equitable outcomes for all. Panorama Global, a 501(c)(3) organization that serves as Hyphen’s fiscal sponsor, will provide fiduciary and compliance oversight and support a rapid-response grantmaking process as needed. 

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Quotes from Philanthropic Supporters:

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“Arnold Ventures is proud to support the Biden-Harris administration’s newly formed Community Violence Intervention Collaborative. This collaboration stands as an example of how philanthropy and government can work together to pilot, evaluate and scale innovations to help tackle gun violence, one of the most pressing problems facing our country.”

• Kelli Rhee, President and CEO, Arnold Ventures 

 

“It is an honor to join with President Biden in an effort to reduce violence in the United States. Centering the conversation on racial justice and health equity is key to ensuring that leaders in vulnerable communities have their voices heard in this conversation.  It is critical that those most affected by violence and injustice be at the forefront of strategies to reimagine public safety.”

• Dr. Robert K. Ross, President and CEO, The California Endowment

 

“We are delighted to join this group of public-private collaboration. Casey is eager to share early lessons from these efforts. In reducing violence, this work will help increase safety, heal trauma and prevent systems involvement for youth in our communities.”

• Tomi Hiers, Vice President, The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Center for Civic Sites and Community Change

 

“We are proud to support the Biden-Harris Administration’s Community Violence Intervention Collaborative to develop and scale proven strategies that can reduce violence and strengthen our cities. Through our partnership with Chicago CRED, we understand that the work of curbing violence and healing communities depends on close collaboration between the public and philanthropic sectors.“

• Laurene Powell Jobs, Founder and President, Emerson Collective

 

“The Ford Foundation shares the White House's sense of urgency on the need to make communities safe and just. Community violence intervention is a proven but under-resourced strategy. This promising collaboration signals an encouraging path forward for increased federal investment in community-based, public health approaches to reduce violence, promote justice, and heal communities.” 

• Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation

 

“Violence has a devastating impact on children, youth, and families, disproportionately harming Black and Latino children and youth. As a Foundation that believes that those hardest hit by problems such as violence are closest to the solutions, we have faith that this effort, grounded in racial justice and equity, will drive transformative and sustainable change that will make their communities safer.”

• Liz Simons and Caitlin Heising, Heising-Simons Foundation

 

“Facilitating high-impact public-philanthropic collaborations and partnerships to address the most urgent issues facing the nation, such as violence, is exactly what Hyphen was created to do. Violence devastates communities most impacted by structural racism and poverty. President Biden’s new collaborative will bring together multi-sector stakeholders, including philanthropy, and strengthen and scale proven interventions to help achieve equity and a brighter and safer future. Hyphen is proud to anchor this effort.”

• Archana Sahgal, President, Hyphen

 

"The creation of the Community Violence Intervention Collaborative is an important step forward in reducing violence in America by strengthening and scaling community-led interventions that research has proven effective in making communities safer. The need for these interventions has never been more urgent, particularly in communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by violence and its systemic causes. The Joyce Foundation is eager to work with our colleagues in philanthropy as part of this collaborative network. Together, we can support both proven and promising strategies to reduce violence and promote public safety, so that all communities can live in peace."

• Ellen Alberding, President,  Joyce Foundation

 

“There’s a critical urgency behind this important collaboration, which goes hand in hand with our commitment to children and families, community-led innovations and promoting racial equity. We are eager to learn how we can leverage our deep investments in communities to engage in this comprehensive approach toward a greater collective impact, so all children have an equitable opportunity to thrive.” 

• La June Montgomery Tabron, President and CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

 

“The Kresge Foundation is optimistic that this initiative is the first step toward a more comprehensive community-based approach to community violence intervention in our hometown of Detroit and in cities across America. Importantly, the collaborative engages citizens to develop approaches appropriate to their communities to reduce violence, manage conflict, and de-escalate the kind of daily tensions that can disrupt community life.”

• Rip Rapson, President and CEO, Kresge Foundation 

 

“Today marks an important step in stemming the tide of violence against Black and Brown bodies. We are proud to collaborate with our public and private sector peers to support proven and promising violence reduction strategies. Through Community Violence Intervention programs, together we can, and must, work towards collective healing in our nation and support a movement for social justice.”

• John Palfrey, President, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

 

“As part of our commitment to racial equity and justice reform, we apply our technology and expertise to accelerate the impact of justice reform organizations and nonprofits. We are encouraged to be part of this effort today, which will provide critical funding to proven and new strategies that reduce violence.”

• Merisa Heu-Weller, Senior Director, Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative

 

“We are eager to contribute to this collaborative learning network. By working together we can deploy both new and proven strategies to reduce violence, promote safety and justice, and bolster community healing.”

• Micaela Fernandez-Allen,  Director of US Advocacy, Open Society Foundations

 

“We are pleased to support this important new collaborative from the Biden-Harris administration that will bring together public and philanthropic resources to reduce violence and enhance public safety, particularly for families and communities of color that have been most impacted by the epidemic of violence in this country. We believe the work of advancing racial and economic equity must be rooted in effective community-led interventions and national policies that promote justice and safety.”

• Stacy Schusterman, Chair, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies

 

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