Check out the latest insights from our program team and grantees.
Grantees

Congo Square Play Promotes Healing, Catharsis in Chicago
Congo Square Theatre is an ensemble dedicated to producing transformative work rooted in the African Diaspora. For 20 years it has committed to telling stories by and for Black people.
Grantee
Congo Square Theatre Company

Building collective power through research
Black Researchers Collective was founded in 2019 with a mission to train and equip communities with the research tools necessary to be more civically engaged and policy informed.
Grantee
Black Researchers Collective

The nation’s first Black arts museum
South Side Community Art Center is the nation’s first Black arts museum that develops and showcases some of the nation’s most influential Black artists.
Grantee
South Side Community Art Center

Chicago violence prevention leader joins Justice Department as senior adviser
READI Chicago Director Eddie Bocanegra Joins Justice Department as Senior Adviser
Grantee
Heartland Alliance

Engaging to protect our water
Fifty years on, Alliance for the Great Lakes expands environmental justice advocacy through inclusion and partnerships.
Grantee
Alliance for the Great Lakes

Pivoting to a reimagined stage
The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project adapts and endures, rethinking performance space and how to reach audiences and students through a pandemic.
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Examining the Rise of Armed Extremists and Militias in Michigan
Recent political violence issues have been on the rise in the U.S. During this webinar, panelists discussed these trends, their implications on democratic institutions specifically in Michigan, and what policy makers might be poised to do about it.

Chicago violence prevention leader joins Justice Department as senior adviser
READI Chicago Director Eddie Bocanegra Joins Justice Department as Senior Adviser
Grantee
Heartland Alliance
What Makes Funder Collaboratives Work? The Fund for a Safer Future Looks Back on Its First Decade
By Tim Daly and Scott Moyer discuss the impact and success of the Fund for Safer Future that was established in 2011.
Source
Inside Philanthropy
The current state of the Chicago police consent decree
A discussion on the court ordered consent decree that included an update from independent monitor Maggie Hickey, and a panel discussion with Cara Hendrickson, Ghian Foreman, Robert Boik, and Garien Gatewood (moderator).
Gun violence prevention research “starting to find its footing”
As gun violence surges across the nation, the scientific journal Nature reports that researchers finally are beginning to “have the money to ask why.”
$600m Needed for Gun Violence Research: Report
According to a joint report prepared for Arnold Ventures and the Joyce Foundation, gun violence research remains underfunded. The federal government needs to spend around $600m over five years for research and data infrastructure improvements recommended.
Source
The Crime Report
Joyce joins violence intervention collaborative
The Foundation is proud to join its philanthropic peers in supporting the Community Violence Intervention Collaborative, aimed at strengthening and expanding community-led, evidence-based violence intervention strategies in in 15 jurisdictions.
Firearms fix
Saving lives by stemming gun violence is the goal of a new law in Illinois that will strengthen background checks, shore up the state’s outdated gun-license system, and invest in mental health services for impacted communities.
Who bought guns during the pandemic
Foundation-funded research is turning a spotlight on a protracted gun-buying surge by Americans, which accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For 25 years, building the case for keeping us safe
For more than a quarter century, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have built a global reputation for pursuing data and policy to reduce gun violence. The team marked its 25th anniversary this year in 2021.
Federal funds for violence prevention
Akron, Ohio, is among cities planning to use federal stimulus dollars for violence prevention initiatives. Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said he intended to use “significant resources" from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) to combat gun violence.
New Survey Sheds Light on Americans’ 2nd Amendment Views
In 2008, a divided U.S. Supreme Court decided in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep a handgun in the home for self-defense.

Briefing on New Illinois Criminal Justice Legislation
In January 2021, the Illinois General Assembly passed the most comprehensive criminal justice reform legislation in recent memory. The Joyce Foundation, Illinois Justice Project, & BPI hosted a briefing to discuss the key elements of the 700-page bill.
A Disconnect in Gun Violence Beliefs
A contradiction appears to stand in the way of Minnesota enacting effective gun safety measures: voters overwhelmingly support stronger gun laws, but aren’t convinced they work.
Foundation welcomes Williams, Khimm and Ezeigbo
Foundation hires new Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform and Education & Economic Mobility program officers, and Culture program director.
Lunch & Learn Webinar Series
In August 2020, we launched a new monthly virtual webinar series highlighting emerging research on gun violence through the Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform Program. View the recordings of all the past webinars and sign up for future invitations.