INVESTMENTS AND IMPACT
The Government Alliance for Safe Communities is committed to investing in communities and supporting organizations to advance community safety.
Investments
Organizations working at the community level laid the groundwork for the local violence prevention ecosystem with support from philanthropy.
Since 2016, the violence prevention eco-system in Chicago has grown significantly with the support of private funding, primarily through The Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities (PSPC), a coalition of more than 50 foundations and funders working together to support promising solutions to address gun violence. Collectively, private donors have committed over $300 million to community violence intervention (CVI). PSPC also supports gun policy reform, public safety reimagining, and grassroots efforts that create safe spaces and promote peace.
Local and state governments have stepped in to fund CVI at unprecedented levels.
Recognizing the impact of CVI programs and the importance of supporting community-based solutions to community violence, the State, County, and City have increased public investments in CVI to strengthen the existing ecosystem and expand the reach of CVI programs. The business community, through the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, has further vowed to raise tens of millions of dollars to support CVI. With State funding, CVI programs are now starting in suburban and downstate communities.
With increased levels of investment and strong partnerships established between local government, philanthropy and the business communities, the Chicago region is positioned to make significant progress toward goals for long-term community safety.
Learn more about CVI and other approaches to building safe communities.
Our Progress
Total grants awarded across agencies: 430
People served by GASC funded CVI programs: 8,879
Mediations conducted by GASC funded programs: 3,924
(Mediations include situations in which a third-party and one or more participants meet to reduce the likelihood of a conflict or to resolve a conflict.)
Independent Evaluation
The Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research and Science (CORNERS) at Northwestern University is partnering with the GASC as their independent research partner. CORNERS’ evaluation of the GASC’s efforts will assess the process and impact of the coalition’s investments in violence prevention and street outreach, creating a case study for the collaborative funding arrangement and demonstrating the impact of CVI investments across communities where grantee organizations operate.