CINCINNATI — Six years ago, three people were shot and killed and two others injured at Fifth Third Center in Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati.

One survivor was Whitney Austin, who formed the nonprofit Whitney/Strong, focused on responsible gun ownership and ending gun violence.

What You Need To Know

  • Whitney/Strong recently released its 2023 impact report, noting that the nonprofit has grown to four full-time employees

  • Save A Life is a program using evidence-based trainings to create safer communities including W/S STRONG Rules of Firearm Safety, STOP THE BLEED and suicide prevention curriculum

  • The nonprofit also conducted a research study with the University of Louisville on the long-term impact of gun violence on child victims 

  • Whitney/Strong also focuses on a non-partisan approach to legislative change, according to the impact report the nonprofit sent more than 25,000 emails to lawmakers across the country

Whitney/Strong recently released its 2023 impact report, noting that the nonprofit has grown to four full-time employees and placing ‘Save A Life’ program managers in Cincinnati and Louisville, Kentucky.

Save A Life is a program using evidence-based trainings to create safer communities, including W/S STRONG Rules of Firearm Safety, STOP THE BLEED and suicide prevention curriculum. In 2023, Whitney/Strong reported 886 people underwent the training, an increase from 677.

The nonprofit also works with higher education facilities, conducting a research study with the University of Louisville on the long-term impact of gun violence on child victims and teamed up with a data science team at the University of Cincinnati. Whitney/Strong also launched a Save A Life pilot program in Appalachia.

Whitney/Strong also focuses on a non-partisan approach to legislative change. According to the impact report, the nonprofit sent more than 25,000 emails to lawmakers across the country, more than 5,000 emails were sent to Kentucky alone. In Cincinnati, Whitney/Strong highlighted ordinances passed related to mandated safe storage practices and the reporting of stolen firearms.

The nonprofit reported tripling individual donations and reaching a growth milestone of more than $620,000 in revenue in 2023, a 20% increase from 2022.

“Never forget that each and every one of these achievements is ripe with meaning and purpose,” the nonprofit said in its report. “We know that because of our collective work more guns are safely stored, more suicides are prevented, more people are seeking mental health treatment, more community-level organizations are receiving support, and more lawmakers are educated and pushed into taking a position on this issue that means so much to all of us. This work is the definition of purpose, and I cannot thank you enough for making it possible.”

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