Highlights from DonorConnect: Protecting Potential: Keeping Youth Safe and Thriving
Jun 18, 2026
At our latest DonorConnect: Protecting Potential: Keeping Youth Safe and Thriving, we explored the Safe & Thriving Youth Plan, a collaborative, community-informed effort to reduce youth violence in Greater Des Moines. Funding to develop the plan was provided by the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and United Way of Central Iowa.
We appreciated the insight shared by our panelists during this thoughtful conversation. Panelists included:
We looked at emerging priorities, heard insights from individuals instrumental in informing the plan and built a clearer understanding of what it will take to create long-term, sustainable change that will impact generations to come.
A clear message emerged: creating a safe and thriving community for our youth isn’t the work of any one organization. It will take all of us showing up, building trust and helping young people know they belong.
Insights from Panelists
Understanding the Challenge
Creating safer communities for young people requires more than responding to violence after it occurs. Participants learned how community partners are working proactively to connect with youth. Two complementary approaches were shared:
Community Violence Intervention (CVI) – connects young people to positive opportunities, trusted relationships and supportive services before violence occurs.
Group Violence Intervention (GVI)brings community partners together to address and disrupt cycles of group violence through coordinated action and accountability.
Speakers emphasized that lasting change requires both prevention and intervention to create safer communities and stronger pathways to success for young people.
Building Trust
Young people are more likely to thrive when they feel connected, understood and supported by the people and systems around them. Panelists emphasized the importance of belonging, building trust through consistent relationships, meeting youth where they are and helping them navigate challenges with dignity and support. From workforce development and literacy assistance to mentorship and neighborhood-based outreach, these efforts help young people see opportunities for their future and know they matter within their community.
Strengthening Collaboration
No single organization can create lasting change alone – it takes coordinated community action. Through initiatives that bring together schools, nonprofits, businesses, funders, neighborhood leaders, service providers and public systems, partners are identifying gaps, strengthening communication and creating sustainable solutions rooted in a shared goal. This collaborative approach has strengthened trust across systems and created space for innovation, problem-solving and collective action.
Taking Action
As summer begins and young people spend more time outside of a structured school environment, the need for engagement opportunities becomes even more urgent. Access to jobs, skill development, mentorship and meaningful activities can help youth build confidence, connections and a sense of purpose
The Safe and Thriving Youth Plan provides a roadmap for how our community can work together to support young people and reduce violence. Attendees were encouraged to learn where their skills and resources can make a difference and join the growing network of organizations, businesses and community members committed to creating safer, stronger futures for youth.
Taking action can look like providing financial support to the organizations supporting this plan and doing the work in the community. It can also look like education and taking time to dive into the Safe and Thriving Youth Plan so you can see where you can fill a gap. Educating yourself on the plan can also help you become a better advocate for the work being done.
And lastly, consider Tone's recommendation: "Show up everywhere you aren't supposed to be," because those places are most often the ones where your presence can make the biggest difference.
Amplify Impact with the Community Foundation
The Community Foundation believes in the power of connection to drive change. Through GIVEdsm, you can explore opportunities to support organizations working to expand access, remove barriers and create a more inclusive workforce. Together, we can help ensure that all people have the opportunity to contribute, grow and thrive.
DonorConnect is part of a free conversation series designed to bring our community together to learn about and discuss our region's most pressing issues and promising opportunities. Look for future events by visiting DesMoinesFoundation.org/Events.
As always, our team is here to simplify your giving to the causes you care about. Whether considering ways to maximize your giving today, involving your family in charitable conversations or planning how to leave a legacy for generations to come we are here to create a personalized giving plan for you.
Contact our team to learn more about customized giving solutions that enable you to give back in the ways that meet your unique goals. We are better together.