Interpersonal violence is a public health issue. Violence has effects on health, at every stage of the life course, and on the next generation. The philanthropic sector seeks to prevent violence through its support for research, community-based organizations, service delivery, communications, advocacy, and policy. In this session, three foundations will present their strategies for violence prevention: Blue Shield of California Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and The California Wellness Foundation. Each foundation will describe its strategies for violence prevention, the effectiveness of these strategies, recommendations for other funders, and thoughts about the future direction of the work. Blue Shield of California Foundation launched a new strategy in 2018 and deepened its commitment to ending domestic violence with a prevention and multigenerational mindset. The Foundation has embarked on a learning process applying a life course analysis to domestic violence, focusing on risk and protective factors leading to the occurrence of domestic violence. In this session, foundation senior program officer Lucia Corral Peña will describe life course approaches to prevention and strategies for breaking the multigenerational cycle of violence. The California Wellness Foundation, since its inception, has viewed violence as a preventable public health issue. Alex Johnson, program director for the foundation’s violence prevention grantmaking, will discuss the foundation’s multidisciplinary and multilateral approach to support the health and safety of communities most impacted by violence. He will highlight efforts by a cross-section of partners to prevent gun and gang violence, as well as transform the youth justice system. The Joyce Foundation was one of the first foundations to take on gun violence in 1993. Since then, Joyce has joined with public health scholars and advocates to develop a new approach to prevent gun violence through research and evidence-based policies to reduce the risk of violence. In this session, Tim Daly, senior program officer in the foundation’s Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform Program, will describe Joyce’s recent experience working in the field, in particular the Fund for a Safer Future, a national collaborative to prevent gun violence; and the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, a donor collaborative addressing gun violence in Chicago.

Blue Shield of California Foundation launched a new strategy in 2018 and deepened its commitment to ending domestic violence by applying a prevention and multigenerational approach to its innovation strategy. The Foundation has embarked on a learning process applying a life course analysis to domestic violence, focusing on risk and protective factors that lead to or prevent the occurrence of domestic and family violence. In this session, foundation senior program officer Lucia Corral Peña will describe life course approaches to prevention and promising strategies for breaking the multigenerational cycle of violence. She will describe strategies that center survivor experience to drive new solutions for violence prevention, the effectiveness and/or early lessons of these strategies, recommendations for other funders, and thoughts about the future direction of the work.