Sustainable change of any kind requires meaningful, collaborative investments and partnerships between the public and private sectors. Members of the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities are optimistic that the investments made over the last two years are beginning to show signs of helping to reduce gun violence and contributing to better relations between police and residents.

But philanthropic investments cannot be sustained at this level over the long term. Our hope is that after this infusion of early stage private sector and foundation funding and testing, over time the most promising, evidence-based solutions to reducing violence and transforming police-community relations could be replicated and scaled with an infusion of sustained public funding.

We see early stage funding as our contribution to a comprehensive, citywide violence reduction plan for Chicago.

Read our full message to Chicago’s next mayor: A Critical Opportunity and Promising Solutions to Chicago’s Gun Violence