OVERVIEW
Gun violence is one of the most challenging public health and equity issues in American society. The gun lobby has spent decades building a powerful, vocal constituency of gun owners and manufacturers, leading to political sclerosis, inaction and delay among elected officials. But we see tremendous potential for common sense reform in a diverse set of stakeholders and supporters with new perspectives on gun violence and the harm it causes in communities nationwide.
Kendeda’s Gun Violence Prevention program seeks to unite unexpected partners around replicable strategies for long-term change, building on creative community-led efforts to find new, productive pathways toward a less violent society. We want to test new violence prevention strategies and convene critical community conversations in order to promote behavior change and advance policy reform. We want to invest in storytelling that moves beyond tragedy reporting and other traditional frames to focus instead on points of agreement, creative solutions, and models of progress. And we want to support emerging leaders and new voices working at the intersection of gun violence prevention, criminal justice reform, racial equity, and poverty.
GOALS
- Communities most directly affected by gun violence possess the voice and power they need to help solve the problem in lasting ways that are aligned with their values.
- Productive discussions about reducing gun violence take place in states and local communities nationwide; these dialogues are marked by rational, common sense discourse in which unexpected allies align around shared interests in, and strategies for, reducing avoidable firearms related deaths.
- This new civil discourse is shaped and driven by a cohort of nontraditional and highly effective strategists, organizers and community leaders.
- Replicable and scalable strategies for reducing gun violence and keeping guns out of the wrong hands can be identified and amplified nationwide.
Grants
The Kendeda Fund invests in a combination of local and national strategies to prevent gun violence. There is no single solution for reducing the scourge of gun violence in America, and lasting change will take time, collaboration, and compromise,
A Ten Station National Reporting Collaborative
WAMU "Guns & America"
Coordinating Strategies to Reduce Gun Violence
Fund for a Safer Future
Bridging Policy Gaps, Forging Smart Solutions
Center for American Progress