The Keys to Successful Collaboration Between a State-based Health Foundation and a National Funder Collaborative
Discussions about firearms in the US are often focused on urban gun violence and mass shootings. But firearm injury and death is a public health crisis that touches every community—urban and rural, red states and blue—and it intersects with issues many health funders care about: mental health, suicide prevention, and health equity.
Medicaid and Community Violence: Pathways to Sustainable Care
American cities are witnessing historic declines in gun violence. In recent years, cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Chicago have all seen precipitous drops in homicides, with some reaching multi-decade record lows (Washington Post 2025). While there are many causes of this decline, experts in the field point to community violence intervention as driving the trend.
2024 Survey Summary: Firearm Violence Prevention Strategies
GIH conducted a survey in September 2024 about funder engagement in firearm violence prevention. This fact sheet summarizes the survey results with a total sample of 81 health funders. This public health crisis and social justice issue is preventable, and health funders have an important role to play in advancing firearm violence prevention efforts.
The Joyce Foundation
“Gun Violence is a significant public health issue in our communities. We believe that philanthropy has an important role to play in tackling it. Despite the enormity of that challenge, public and private funding to address gun violence has lagged—perhaps because of the perceived risk in engaging on this issue, or the apparent challenges in driving impact on an issue that seems intractable. For those very reasons philanthropy must rise to the challenge and take risks where government cannot, and lead when others will not.”
Health Foundation for Western & Central New York: July 2024
The Imagine Nonviolence: Expand the Reach initiative is designed to support innovative and collaborative programs working to reduce the risk of firearm-related injury and death among pregnant people, children under age five, and older adults in western and central New York.