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      About the Program

      The Everytown Community Safety Fund provides direct investment, peer convenings and capacity building to community-based violence intervention programs nationwide.

      Since 2019, Everytown has granted $8 million to 72 organizations in 57 cities implementing promising, community-based strategies to reduce gun violence as part of our effort to support, sustain and scale their life-saving work. Participants are selected via a competitive process and receive unrestricted funding, a critical lifeline for community-based violence intervention programs on the frontlines of reducing gun violence and making our communities safer. ​​The Everytown Community Safety Fund is managed by the Community Safety Initiatives team. Contact Michael-Sean Spence, Senior Director of Community Safety Initiatives at [email protected] for more information.

      A History of Our Support

      A group of about 10 pen stand together while wearing Hope Dealer tshirts

      2018

      • Everytown Develops Grant Program

        In 2018, recognizing the critical role community-based violence intervention programs have played to reduce gun violence in American cities for decades and the effectiveness of their strategies, Everytown began developing our grant program with input from national partners and subject matter experts.
      A group of 8 people smile for a photo at an event.

      2019

      • Everytown Launches Grant Program

        Everytown launched its grant program with an initial investment of $1.1 million, providing support grants to 11 community-based gun violence intervention groups nationwide, with input from partners, experts, community members, and practitioners.
      A group of 14 people from Paterson Healing Collective in New Jersey pose together while wearing orange sweatshirts or Black Lives Matter t-shirts and masks during the COVID-19 pandemic

      2020

      • Grant Program Expansion

        Everytown expanded our grant program in response to dual pandemics—persistent gun violence and COVID-19. This included grants to 15 community-based violence intervention programs while extending grants to 21 more violence prevention programs adapting to the impact of the pandemic, with the support of the Langeloth Foundation.
      Dr. Woods speaks to a group at an event

      2021

      • Launching the Community Safety Fund

        Acknowledging the rise in gun violence and the urgent need to support community-based violence intervention programs, Everytown launched the Community Safety Fund. The Fund will support, sustain and scale the life-saving work of community-based violence intervention programs in American cities over the next five years.
      A group of seven people pose in front of a mural

      2022

      • Expanding our Offerings

        With the newly launched Community Safety Fund, Everytown expanded its grant offerings to include Wear Orange Grants for local organizations focused on place-based approaches to reducing gun violence, and large Micro-Cohort Grants to three or more community-based gun violence intervention groups organizations in a shared city or state.

      What We Do

      Support Grants

      Support Grants are our largest total grant offering, delivered in two disbursements over two years. Grant recipients are selected via a competitive process informed by Moms Demand Action volunteers, Everytown staff, and our advisory board of national subject matter experts. In addition to financial support, grantees also receive access to peer convening, capacity-building training, and advocacy support from Everytown staff, partners and volunteer networks. Select Everytown support grant recipients may continue to receive sustainer funding.

      Direct Investment

      Each year, 15 community-based violence intervention programs are awarded $100,000, to be delivered in two equal payments of $50,000 over two years. The 15 community-based violence intervention programs that receive this grant are identified and selected through a competitive process. Grantees are community-based nonprofit organizations implementing promising public safety strategies in the cities which are most affected by gun violence in America.

      Convenings

      Each grantee joins a peer-network of 70+ community-based organizations, and is afforded the opportunity to attend gatherings of experts, practitioners, and Everytown staff. Community Safety Fund staff organize events for grantees with the goals of elevating the incredible life-saving work of community-based violence intervention programs and delivering practical tools and tips that fuel their work.

      Capacity-Building

      Everytown partners with experts and researchers to deliver optional capacity-building trainings and workshops. These opportunities are co-developed in strategic partnership with experts who understand the work of community violence intervention and the needs of community-based organizations, such as Dr. Caterina Roman at Temple University and the Community Resource Exchange.

      Advocacy and Support

      Grantees are connected with Everytown’s staff and volunteer networks who work to empower grantees’ campaigns and advocacy efforts. In coalition with our national partners and local allies, Community Safety Fund staff have worked to leverage the incredible work of our grantees for additional funding at the local, state, and federal levels. 

      Wear Orange CPTED Grants

      Wear Orange CPTED Grants support community-based violence intervention organizations collaborating who have partnered with a local Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteer chapter/group to reduce gun violence via a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) project, “clean-and-green” or other place-based initiatives, in a community with high levels of gun violence.

      Direct Investment

      The Community Safety Fund provides ten $10,000 grants. Grantees are community-based nonprofit organizations implementing promising public safety strategies in the cities which are most affected by gun violence in America.

      Capacity-Building

      In addition to this financial support, Local Initiatives Support Corp (LISC), will provide 10 hours of technical assistance per grant to each joint grant recipient and collaborating volunteer group.

      Advocacy and Support

      Grantees and the local volunteer network are connected with Everytown’s staff and volunteer networks who work to empower grantees’ campaigns and advocacy efforts. In coalition with our national partners and local allies, Community Safety Fund staff have worked to leverage the incredible projects in local and national media.

      Read More About Previous Wear Orange CPTED Grantees

      Meet Our Grantees

      2022

      2021

      2020

      2019

      Meet Our Partners

      Advisory Board

      • Anthony Smith: Executive Director, Cities United
      • Dr. Caterina Roman: Professor, Department of Criminal Justice at Temple University
      • Dr. Chico Tillmon: Senior Research Fellow, University Chicago Crime Lab
      • Erica Atwood: Senior Director, Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Philadelphia
      • Greg Jackson: Executive Director, Community Justice Action Fund
      • Marcus McAllister: Violence Prevention Consultant, McAllister Consultancy & Training LLC
      • Dr. Shani Buggs: Assistant Professor, University of California, Davis Violence Prevention Research Program

      Capacity-Building Trainers

      Brown Bag Sessions with Dr. Caterina Roman

      In strategic partnership with Dr. Caterina Roman at Temple University, the Community Safety Fund co-developed three trainings to support grantees’ development efforts with an individualized focus on grant writing, developing a data-driven problem statement and engaging a research partner, and developing logic models and impact evaluations.

      Organizational Management and Leadership with the Community Resource Exchange 

      In strategic partnership with the Community Resource Exchange, Community Safety Fund co-developed an 8-month, bi-monthly, cohort-based capacity-building training program for support grantees with a focus on enhancing management, leadership, and organizational skills.

      Resources

      The Community Safety Fund regularly shares Everytown-developed tools, fact sheets, and reports that amplify the needs and experiences of community-based violence intervention programs. The Community Safety Fund also shares  Everytown and partner-developed assets to fuel awareness and implementation of promising gun violence reduction strategies to inform the work of grantees and increase awareness of practical tools and resources.

      Learn more about evidence-based gun violence statistics and prevention strategies.

      Gun Violence Stasitics & Strategies for Prevention

      Additional Learning Materials

      Contact Us

      Community Safety Fund Contact

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      Did you know?

      In 2015, half of all U.S. gun homicides took place in just 127 cities containing less than 25 percent of the country’s population.

      Aufrichtig A, Beckett L, Diehm J, Lartey J. “Want to fix gun violence in America? Go local”. The Guardian. (2017). https://bit.ly/2i6kaKw.