While news of mass shootings, such as the July 3 shooting deaths of five men in Philadelphia, mirror the rash of shootings in 2022 and dominate media feeds, community gun violence takes more lives and impacts more people in the United States.
This week the PACEs Connection podcast History. Culture. Trauma, again focuses on gun violence in America, with a conversation departing from the focus on mass shootings, to instead look at community violence and solutions to community violence with policy analyst and activist Timothy Hughes.
“Whereas, active shooter situations and school shootings tend to dominate our mainstream news outlets, community gun violence is often not given as much attention,” said Ingrid Cockhren, PACEs Connection CEO and co-host of the podcast.
“Community violence overwhelmingly impacts low-income communities and communities of color. Mainstream news coverage of this type of violence seldom focuses on mental health, trauma or even real solutions. Instead, violence in these communities is often viewed through the lens of culture.” said Cockhren.
Hughes, who currently serves as a policy consultant at Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis, is also commentator, columnist, community organizer, educator, human rights advocate, and public intellectual. He works at the intersection of public policy and social justice and has been involved with Gideon’s Army in Nashville, Tennessee, and their group of community members called Violence Interrupters.
Hughes appeared in a PACEs Connection webinar about gun violence with Cockhren, who hosted several 2022 events to explore gun violence, including the first episode of the History, Culture, Trauma podcast in which she and PACEs Connection founder and publisher Jane Stevens discussed “How the News Media Suck at Violence Reporting” and how “integrating knowledge of the science of positive and adverse childhood experiences could help reduce and prevent violence,(and) help reduce systemic racism and its effects.”
“In this year (2023), there have been more mass shootings in America than in any other year on record. As of May 8, 2023, there had been 131 mass shootings with four or more people wounded or killed so far as compared to 113 at the same time last year. Since 2020, America has been ravaged by a pandemic and endured political divide, nationwide protests and civil unrest. It is apparent that the collective traumas have accelerated America’s already dire gun violence crisis,” said Cockhren.
Tune in Thursday at 1 p.m. PT; 4 p.m. ET, to hear more of the discussion on the community gun violence as a social justice issue, and ways to reduce community gun violence.
Full disclosure: In case there are questions as to why I’m posting this personal post and then subsequent blog posts from an organization called CHC: Creating Healthier Communities (CHC) and its CEO and president, Jean Accius, PhD., please allow me to explain.
(Fellow volunteers Dana Brown, Rafael Maravilla, and me on a recent Zoom call about revitalizing PACEs Connection.)
In addition to my volunteer role with PACEs Connection alongside fellow volunteers Dana Brown and Rafael Maravilla, I recently accepted a full-time role with Creating Healthier Communities (CHCImpact.org) as the director of nonprofit partnerships.
CHC leadership knows of my volunteer role in revitalizing PACEs Connection. I work Monday – Thursday for CHC; Fridays and some weekends and evenings I’m often in meetings or working with Dana and Rafael on PACEs Connection.
CHC, a nearly 70-year-old organization, helps nonprofits achieve their missions by bringing communities, nonprofits, and businesses together, with the goal of improving the health and wellbeing of every person in every community through collaboration for scalable, sustainable solutions that drive real, lasting change.
(Sound familiar? It reminds me of our hopes for the PACEs Connection cross-sector communities when the organization was founded in 2012, and now, as Dana Brown, Rafael Maravilla, and I work to revitalize it. Just sayin’.)
More about CHC: Creating Healthier Communities
CHC helped found the workplace-giving campaign for federal employees — the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) — in 1961, and since then has helped raise more than $8.6 billion through the CFC.
We also manage workplace giving campaigns for scores of states across the U.S. and for several hundred corporations.
CHC distributes funds and resources to some 5,000 nonprofits each year, and officially partners with 1,400 state, local, and chapter nonprofit organizations to help them maximize the funds they receive from annual workplace giving campaigns. We leverage seasoned support to help many of the world’s leading nonprofits steward donors (when donors allow contact), maximize positive exposure, and take advantage of volunteering, speaking, and tabling opportunities when possible.
With a focus on health equity, CHC also secures and manages grants for various community-based campaigns such as our Black Birthing Initiative, and another focused on preventing cervical and breast cancer in minorities.
Why does this matter? What’s the connection?
I share this information because it was always a dream at PACEs Connection to help resilient communities secure funds, become sustainable, and grow. We did help some communities achieve those objectives, but we didn’t do it to scale as hoped. The work ground down after layoffs in 2023 and to a halt when PACEs Connection was sunset by its fiscal sponsor in April 2024. Since then, Dana Brown and I have secured a new fiscal sponsor (more on that here, with gratitude to our new fiscal sponsor, National Prevention Science Coalition), and we are committed to moving forward. Supporting PACEs Connection resilient communities is one of our objectives.
Today I am hoping some of you are with resiliency task forces that have grown, have become 501(c)(3) organizations, and would like to know more about how to become a nonprofit partner with CHC, as this could be a way to help some of our communities raise awareness, and raise funds.
If you’re part of a resiliency task force that is a 501(c)(3) organization, I encourage you to explore a partnership with CHC. This could be an easy and low-cost way (there are application fees after the first year; the first year is free) to raise awareness and funds for your community efforts.
Equally as important?
We hope to raise awareness among CHC’s member organizations about the importance of leveraging PACEs science to address overarching challenges, while at the same time creating science-based solutions. PACEs Connection stands ready to continue as a nexus for shared information and opportunities for healthier communities.That has always been a big part of our why.
Opportunities for nonprofit members of PACEs Connection
Here is a link to the CHC website to begin the application process. (Note: final application happens in the third quarter of each year, just prior to the launch of workplace giving campaigns.)
Organizational requirements for partnership include an IRS 990 designation and form; 501(c)(3) status; and a board-approved non-discrimination policy.
Many states and campaigns require an organization to also have a current audit. Please note: this is a “long-game” strategy, as to be included in the 2026 workplace-giving campaigns for funds likely distributed in 2027, organizations must apply in August and September 2025. So again, this is not a quick fix. But one thing is certain: organizations that don’t apply won’t receive funds. So it is worth the time and the free enrollment the first year to see if your organization and its mission resonate with workplace donors.
Too, when donors choose to share their contact information, nonprofits have the opportunity to grow relationships and steward new donors. Fees are based on the number of state campaigns an organization goes into and on the funds raised. My CHC colleague Shelby Speth and I will be happy to talk with you about this. Please email me at csipp@chcimpact.org to set up an appointment.
Introducing Jean Accius, PhD, President and CEO of CHC
It is with these thoughts in mind that I share information about the opportunity for working with CHC, and that I will begin sharing blog posts by CHC CEO and president Jean Accius, PhD.
We are all working toward the same objective: creating healthier communities.
Jean is a thought leader on social determinants of health, public health, health equity, aging, and more. He is a frequent speaker at leading health-related think tanks and on podcasts and webinars. I will post his blogs as well as fact-based information pieces from the CHC website. Among recent posts of interest to nonprofit organizations are:
Coming full circle with CHC — There is a bit of a history!
Again, our hope at PACEs Connection was always to help our cross-sector communities grow — in the number of communities started, the number of members each community engaged, and in the connections that could support the communities in various ways with funding, braided services to prevent and heal trauma, and to promote positive childhood and community experiences, by providing educational opportunities with speakers, webinars, and more.
Our hope endured even as PACEs Connection faced funding challenges and was sunset in 2024. We are here to keep the PACEs science movement alive, and to encourage the growth of our existing interest- and geographic-based communities (more than 450 and counting).
If you have any questions about this, please know my motives are purely to lift up the nonprofit organizations whose members belong to PACEs Connection, and to introduce them to an organization that could help them raise funds through workplace giving, as is the case with many of the nation’s leading nonprofits that work with CHC already, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, The March of Dimes, The Children’s National Hospital Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, and the Alzheimer’s Association.
One quick historical aside: Ironically, several years ago PACEs leadership approached CHC about working together. Apparently, the timing wasn’t right then. My hope is that the stars are aligned now for a terrific partnership with CHC, and with other organizations that can become strategic allies with PACEs Connection. We believe CHC can be a terrific partner as we help PACEs Connection nonprofit members grow and thrive in our work to prevent and heal trauma, and to build healthier communities by emphasizing the preventive and protective value of positive childhood, community, and workplace experiences.
Again, to learn more about partnering with CHC to raise funds via workplace giving campaigns, please email me at csipp@chcimpact.org.
For PACEs Connection-related matters, Dana Brown and I are available at
Register now for this free event on March 27Noon to 1pm EST!In the early months of the year, the Trump Administration introduced sweeping health policy changes with implications for nonprofits and community organizations. Shifts in federal funding, evolving agency priorities, and potential cuts to key health initiatives are raising big questions.CHC: Creating Healthier Communities invites all nonprofit and for-profit leaders to join a webinar March 27 from noon to 1 p.m. to learn more about
🔹 What these changes mean for funding and compliance 🔹 How nonprofits can adapt their messaging strategies 🔹 What challenges—and opportunities—lie ahead
Luke Hartig, a seasoned expert in policy and governance, will provide key insights. Jean Accius, president and CEO of Creating Healthier Communities (CHCImpact.org) will share updates on how CHC is navigating these shifts to continue improving community health.
This event is for nonprofit professionals at all levels—including those in development, communications, and leadership—who want to stay ahead of federal policy changes in this evolving landscape.
(L-R) Morgan Zehner of Creating Healthier Communities (CHC), Luke Hartig of Gravity Research, and Carey Sipp of CHC discuss funding sources and the importance of language in current government funding applications.
NOTE: During our Creating Healthier Communities (CHC) Board meeting in Alexandria, Virginia two weeks ago, I heard Hartig speak and answer questions about how to frame the work being done in communities and nonprofits during this time of heightened sensitivity to how the work is described. In my work at PACEs Connection and Creating Healthier Communities I see takeaways that may bode well for resilient communities with regard to how we frame our work. Specifically? While we know certain terms such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (for which we will continue to advocate at PACEs Connection) are words that can cause a negative response in this political climate, some words we use often to describe our work are in favor and will be seen as positive descriptors to potential funders and government agencies.
Words that may help communities gain traction include
– prevention
– health access
– holistic care
– rural supports and focus
Hartig will likely offer additional updates on the importance of word use in funding applications and more when we meet on Thursday. I hope you will register and join us!
Carey Sipp 7/4/233:37 PM
“Community violence overwhelmingly impacts low-income communities and communities of color. Mainstream news coverage of this type of violence seldom focuses on mental health, trauma or even real solutions. Instead, violence in these communities is often viewed through the lens of culture.” said Cockhren.
CHC, a nearly 70-year-old organization, helps nonprofits achieve their missions by bringing communities, nonprofits, and businesses together, with the goal of improving the health and wellbeing of every person in every community through collaboration for scalable, sustainable solutions that drive real, lasting change.
Carey Sipp 
