ABOUT GASC
Active coordination, collaboration, and communication are essential to effectively and sustainably increase community safety. The Government Alliance for Safe Communities (GASC) is working towards a more equitable and comprehensive approach to community safety in which violence prevention programs are a permanent and central feature of the community safety ecosystem in Chicago and Cook County.
HOW IT STARTED
The GASC, formerly known as the Intergovernmental Partnership for Violence Prevention, was established in 2021 to maximize the impact of federal COVID-19 American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funding coming to the greater Chicago region. In response to the rise in gun violence experienced nationally and locally, the State of Illinois, Cook Country, and the City of Chicago came together and identified community safety as the most urgent priority to collectively address. Since its inception, the GASC has successfully stewarded a historic level of investment of nearly $350 million in public funding for community safety.
HOW IT WORKS
Since 2021, GASC has met continuously to coordinate investments, align on data collection practices, and focus on capacity building. GASC has engaged key partners in research and philanthropy and is collaboratively developing sustainability strategies to fund community safety initiatives beyond ARPA.
WHY IT MATTERS
GASC exists because active coordination, collaboration, and communication within government are essential to effectively and sustainably reduce gun violence and increase community safety in the neighborhoods and municipalities most impacted by the gun violence crisis in our region.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Funding
Unifying and streamlining grantmaking processes to ensure effective, sustainable, and equitable administration of grants across agencies
Capacity Building
Increasing access to organizational capacity building support for community-based organizations working to prevent violence in our communities
Performance Management
Implementing efficient and effective data collection and evaluation processes to understand the collective impact of violence prevention investments
PARTICIPATING AGENCIES
