Washington, DC, March 14, 2025—At a time when firearm violence is a leading cause of death for children and teens, a new Grantmakers In Health survey of health funding organizations found that philanthropic investments in firearm violence prevention are growing in terms of both the number of funders supporting this work and the dollar amounts dedicated to these efforts.
Approximately 59 percent of GIH survey respondents are now funding firearm violence prevention, compared to just 23 percent of respondents reporting such investments in 2020. The majority of funders supporting this work (64 percent) report an increase in funding for firearm violence prevention since 2020, while only 5 percent report a decrease in funding. Reasons for increased philanthropic funding varied and include an increased focus on health equity and increased need in communities served.
“It is heartening to see deepening health funder interest in gun violence prevention, something we know beyond a doubt is a solvable public health epidemic,” said Scott Moyer, President of the Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation and a member of the Steering Committee guiding GIH’s Firearm Violence Prevention Learning Community. “Health foundations and individual donors have a role to play in slowing this uniquely American crisis, and there are countless ways to get involved and make a difference.”
Health funders support a wide variety of firearm violence prevention activities. The most commonly funded activities include help for people at high risk for being victims or perpetrators of violence, capacity building, training, and technical assistance, coalition building, public education and narrative change, and policy advocacy.
Increased philanthropic commitment to firearm prevention is likely to play a pivotal role in sustaining momentum for recent declines in firearm deaths in light of threats to federal support, including the elimination of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention and uncertainty over future federal grant funding for community violence intervention, research, and related interventions.
The full survey report, 2024 Survey Summary: Firearm Violence Prevention Strategies, is available to download here.
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Grantmakers In Health (GIH) is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to helping foundations and corporate giving programs improve the health of all people. Its mission is to foster communication and collaboration among grantmakers and others, and to help strengthen the grantmaking community’s knowledge, skills, and effectiveness. For more information, please visit GIH.org.
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202.534.3008 jbarrus@gih.org