Everytown Community Safety Fund Gathers Over 60 Community-Based Violence Intervention Organizations Ahead of the 11th Annual National Cities United Convening Today in Seattle 

SEATTLE — Today in Seattle, ahead of the 11th annual national Cities United convening, the Everytown Community Safety Fund hosted a pre-institute convening with over 60 community-based organizations, includingCommunity Safety Fund grantees from 47 cities, including Seattle.

The pre-institute was an opportunity for community violence intervention (CVI) leaders to learn from each other and celebrate this year’s accomplishments. The gathering drew over 100 in attendance for panels featuring guest speakers including Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, representatives from the Seattle Seahawks, and leaders in the community violence intervention space including Erica Atwood, Deputy of Engagement at Cities United, Billy Hairston, Associate Director of Programs at Center for Children and Youth Justice, UC-Davis Assistant Professor Dr. Shani Buggs, CEO of  MC&T Consulting, Marcus McAllister, Dr. Talib Hudson, Founder The New Hood, and Jen Keeling, Director of Partnerships & Operations at Chicago CRED. Programming also featured remarks from Anthony Smith, the executive director of Cities United, and Michael-Sean Spence, managing director of Community Safety Initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.

“Cities United’s annual convening provides a unique opportunity to be in community with our Everytown Community Safety Fund grantees and their national counterparts working to reduce gun violence in cities nationwide,” said Michael-Sean Spence, managing director of Community Safety Initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and creator of the Everytown Community Safety Fund. “We were ecstatic that all of our grantees could attend as we bring together some of the brightest minds in gun violence prevention and a safe space where they can learn from each other and share best practices. Investing in community violence intervention is critical to combating gun violence in cities and building the capacity of our practitioners fuels that effort across the nation. .”

“Creating safe spaces for those who are leading the work on the ground in their city is a priority at Cities United,” said Anthony Smith, executive director of Cities United. “These spaces give them time to rejuvenate, learn new skills, and build new relationships – giving them the fuel they need to keep doing their life saving work. This work is so vital to intervening in cycles of violence in cities across the nation and we are honored we get to hold space for all these leaders who work tirelessly to make our neighborhoods safer. We are especially excited to bring our gathering to Seattle, a city with a developing CVI network that we must sustain.”

The Everytown Community Safety Fund (CSF) Pre-Institute of Cities United is a annual gathering of CSF grantees to create peer-to-peer relationships, learn from experts in the space, and build capacity through programming like a facilitated therapeutic dialogue session is designed as a healing space for community violence professionals and survivors, led by executive director of Girasoll Wellness, Jordan Murphy. In addition to programming, grantees get to meet with cross departmental Everytown staff to see how Everytown can help these organizations thrive and grow capacity. 

Cities United is building a movement of cities, empowering leaders across the nation who are committed to reducing homicides and shootings among young Black men & boys. The 11th annual Cities United convening is bringing together thought leaders, innovators, and advocates committed to working together to save lives. The goal is not merely to convene, but to equip cities with the tools, knowledge, and network to create a safer, healthier, and more hopeful future for those most impacted by community violence.

The Everytown Community Safety Fund, a program of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, is the largest national initiative solely dedicated to fueling the life-saving work of community-based violence intervention organizations in cities nationwide. Since 2019, the Everytown Community Safety Fund has granted over $13 million in support of 136 community-based violence intervention organizations implementing promising strategies, like street outreach, hospital-based violence interventions and youth development and counseling, in 69 American cities. The Safety Fund grantees receive access to funding, the Community Safety Fund’s quarterly calls, peer convenings, capacity-building trainings, national conferences, as well as support from Everytown, Moms Demand Action volunteers and national partners. Grantees include organizations from cities across the country currently grappling with high rates of gun violence. The full list of community-based violence intervention organizations currently supported by the Everytown Community Safety Fund and more information about the fund can be found here.

As gun violence continues to devastate communities following an exponential increase in recent years, CVI programs are working tirelessly to sustain their work, working with individuals at the highest risk of shooting or being shot and helping reduce violence through targeted interventions — including street outreach and hospital-based violence intervention — in the country’s most vulnerable communities. While historic investments have been made at all levels of government, CVI organizations still struggle to access promised funding and when they do, funding is restricted to programmatic expenses, preventing them from increasing staff, building their capacity or scaling to more people and places in need. The Community Safety Fund’s investment will allow community-based violence intervention organizations to build their capacity to sustain and scale their programs long-term, enhancing their ability to successfully access additional government, philanthropic and corporate support.

The gathering included representatives from over 60 CVI organizations. Organizations in attendance included:

1. Advance Peace , Richmond, VA
2. Albuquerque Against Violence Program, Youth Development Inc., Albuquerque, NM
3. Baton Rouge Community Street Team, Baton Rouge, LA
4. Big Mama’s Safe House, San Antonio, TX
5. Building A Better Way For Trenton/Trenton Community Street Team, Trenton, NJ
6. Center for Children and Youth Justice, Seattle, WA
7. Center For Structural Equity, Wilmington, DE
8. Chicago CRED, Chicago, IL
9. Circle of Brotherhood, Miami, FL
10. Cities United, Louisville, KY
11. Cleveland Peacemakers, Cleveland, OH
12. Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy at Chicago Crime Lab, Chicago, IL
13. COMPASS Youth Collaborative, Hartford, CT
14. Connecticut Violence Intervention and Prevention Inc, New Haven, CT
15. Denver Youth Program | Gang Rescue and Support Project (GRASP), Denver, CO
16. Faith in Action Alabama, Birmingham, AL
17. Focused Interruption, Madison, WI
18. Force Detroit, Detroit, MI
19. Fresh Start Kidz, Inc., Memphis, TN
20. Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO), New York City, NY
21. H.O.P.E Hustlers, Atlanta, GA
22. Inner City Innovators, West Palm Beach, FL
23. Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, Chicago, IL
24. IVYY Project at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, GA
25. Living Classrooms Foundation, Baltimore, MD
26. Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Boston, MA
27. ManUpPHL, Philadelphia, PA
28. Movement 4 Life, Sacramento, CA
29. MUSC Turning the Tide Violence Intervention Program, Charleston, SC
30. Nevada Partners, Inc., Las Vegas, NV
31. New Hood, New York City, NY
32. Next Step Program, Minneapolis, MN
33. NO MORE RED DOTS INC, Louisville, KY
34. Not Another Child, Inc., New York City
35. POIC Healing Hurt People Portland, Portland, OR
36. Power 4 STL, St. Louis, MO
37. Pro Se Potential, Seattle, WA
38. Project Ujima-Children’s WI, Milwaukee, WI
39. Reimagining Justice Inc/Paterson Healing Collective, Paterson, NJ
40. Resilient In Sustaining Empowerment, Seattle, WA
41. RISE, Seattle, WA
42. Rise Up Rochester, Inc., Rochester, NY
43. Riverside Hand in Hand HVIP, Newport News, VA
44. RVA League For Safer Streets, Richmond, CA
45. Selma Center for Nonviolence, Selma, AL
46. Shaphat Outreach, San Diego, CA
47. South Pittsburgh Coalition for Peace, Pittsburgh, PA
48. Street Pause Inc and Center for Hope, Baltimore, MD
49. Temple University: Philadelphia Ceasefire, Philadelphia, PA
50. The Black Rose Collective, Baltimore, MD
51. The BUILD Program-PCITI, Los Angeles, CA
52. The New Hood, New York City, NY
53. The T.R.I.G.G.E.R Project, Washington, DC
54. The Wraparound Project, San Francisco. CA
55. Tyme to Thrive Beyond Grief, Atlanta, GA
56. Ubuntu Village NOLA, New Orleans, LA
57. Urban Family, Seattle, WA
58. V.I.P. Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX
59. Wii Care Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
60. YAAY ME INC, Washington, DC
61. Youth Advocate Programs, Inc., Charlotte, NC
62. Youth ALIVE!, Oakland, CA
63. YouTurn, Omaha, NE