Grant Makers Roundtable: A national funder collaborative for gun violence prevention

Gun violence, including homicides, suicides, accidents and nonfatal shootings, claims more than 100,000 victims in the U.S. every year. Despite the magnitude of this public health challenge, public health researchers and advocates have long struggled to raise money to support gun violence prevention efforts. Similarly, funders interested in working collaboratively on this issue did not have a place to share information and strategies with their peers. However, a new funders' collaborative, the Fund for a Safer Future, offers funders a place to learn from one another and from outside experts, focus on strategic grant making, and leverage resources for a greater collective impact. Grantees benefit from access to new resources and an informed community of funders. Recent projects supported by the Fund include an expert convening on the issue of mental health and gun violence, research on secondary gun markets, and state-based organizing. The roundtable would inform public health grant makers, donors, non-profits and community partners about opportunities to collaborate on the issue of gun violence prevention.