Criminal Justice
Most Recent
How a New Microgrant Project Is Empowering Incarcerated People
The Inside Impact Fund,a collaboration between two California criminal justice nonprofits, is distributing its first round of grants to support projects designed by and for people living in California prisons.
Gender-Based Violence Organizations Are Scalable: An Urgent Call for Philanthropy
With philanthropy contributing relative pennies toward addressing gender-based violence, guest author Kavita Mehra calls for funders to push through a glass ceiling limiting organizations’ growth.
The Foundations Behind a Crime Survivors’ March Against “Tough On Crime” Policies
With the support of philanthropic funders like the Ford Foundation and the Just Trust, the Alliance for Safety and Justice is assembling thousands of people from 200 organizations to combat the backlash to criminal justice reform.
Two Big Reasons Why Criminal Justice Reform Funding Took a Dive — and Hasn’t Recovered
Conversations with criminal justice reform leaders reveal some broad reasons why funding fell dramatically after hitting an all-time high in 2020 — and that there’s some hope for a more sustainable way forward.
Half of Criminal Justice Reform Funding Goes to Nonprofits Based in Just Two States
Candid data shows that roughly 50% of criminal justice giving goes to organizations in New York and California. That isn’t ideal for nonprofits working in states with comparatively higher levels of mass incarceration.
Once a “Juvenile Lifer,” This Foundation Leader Works to Elevate an Overlooked Population
As head of the New Breath Foundation, Eddy Zheng draws on his own past experience to raise awareness and resources for an overlooked group: AANHPI people impacted by the U.S. criminal justice and immigration systems.
Funding for Criminal Justice Reform: A Quick Rise Followed By a Hard Fall
After growing quickly starting in 2016, philanthropic commitments for criminal justice reform peaked in 2020 before falling steeply. We’ll be digging into the how, the why, and what the longer-term ramifications might be.
In Her Latest Round, MacKenzie Scott Zeroed in on the Criminal Legal System and its Human Fallout
Yield Giving’s first open call provided broad support for at-risk youth, those leaving prison, and the families of those in carceral system. We take a look at the grantees, including a group supporting children of incarcerated parents.
Towards Greater Community Safety: The Case for Community-Based Violence Intervention
In this guest piece, Ford President Darren Walker and program officer david rogers say funders should lean into community violence prevention strategies — to make policing “both less necessary and more effective.”
After More Than $1 Billion in Funding, MacArthur’s Big Bets Are Winding Down. What Happens Now?
Over the next few years, the MacArthur Foundation is bringing to a close four “Big Bets” on issues ranging from criminal justice to climate change. What impact did these programs have? And how will the shift affect grantees?
A Health Foundation’s “More Equitable Approach” to Substance Use Disorder
The Elevance Health Foundation is tackling substance use by focusing in on overlooked populations. It’s one of a relatively small number of philanthropies addressing the escalating opioid crisis in any significant way.
With Women Literally Under Attack, Funders Must Invest More in Ending Gender-Based Violence
As we mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month, guest author Archi Pyati reflects on the immediate need for philanthropy to ramp up its efforts to end gender-based violence and treat it as more than a siloed “women’s issue.”
Why This L.A. Funder Created a Children’s Library at Men’s Central Jail
Gordon Philanthropies focuses on education and literacy, including by funding a new children’s library at Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles. The library aims to strengthen bonds between incarcerated men and their children.
Over $83 Million Out the Door in Eighteen Months: An Update on CZI’s Justice Reform Spinoff
The Just Trust spun out from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2021 with $350 million to spend on criminal justice reform over five years. It’s seeking to channel the movement’s ideological diversity and bring in new donors.
As the Opioid Crisis Rips Across America, Where Is Philanthropy?
Some of the country’s largest health philanthropies have shifted their focus away, and only a handful of others have stepped up. Why isn’t philanthropy doing more about this national health emergency?
Gun Violence Prevention Measures Are Working. Let’s Celebrate the Lives Preserved
Though you probably wouldn’t be able to tell from the headlines, philanthropy-backed gun violence prevention is having a real effect. Here, guest contributor Talia Rivera shines a spotlight on those unseen victories.
Six Years and $125 Million Later, Art for Justice Takes a Final Bow
Agnes Gund’s Art for Justice channeled a large chunk of money toward artists and activists focused on the carceral system. The fund is now winding down, but it made a big impact in a short time.
Is MacKenzie Scott the Leading Social Justice Funder? Yes and No
MacKenzie Scott has moved huge sums to social justice groups, but should we think of her chiefly as a social justice funder? What exactly is a social justice funder, anyway? We took at close look at 20 grants in search of answers.
Is “Tech for Good” Actually Good? A New Framework Seeks to Help Funders Vet Proposals
Philanthropy is often approached to fund tech that will make the public sector more effective or equitable, but such projects often have unintended outcomes. Ford released a new report to help funders navigate proposals.
Funders Back an Organization that Puts People Impacted by the Justice System in Front
The MacArthur Foundation and Blue Meridian Partners are some of the major national funders supporting JustLeadershipUSA’s efforts to give people who’ve experienced the criminal justice system a voice in its reform.
How a 75-Year-Old Foundation Dramatically Increased Funding for Groups Led by People of Color
In 2019, Public Welfare Foundation announced a plan to move the vast majority of its grantmaking resources to Black and POC-led nonprofits. Its leadership unpacks the process and shares its results to date.
Why Mellon Is Boosting Art That Confronts the Criminal Justice System
The leading funder of the humanities committed $125 million to lift up the artistic voices of those directly impacted by American legal system. It’s a big influx of cash for this field, and one that Mellon hopes will have broad impacts.
The Power of Reentry: New Grants Demonstrate the Potential of Holistic Support for Returning Citizens
New backing from the Michigan Justice Fund shines a light on the unmet needs of people reentering society after incarceration — and how attention to this area could help funders address a whole range of social ills.
This Fund Wants to Dial in on Discriminatory Justice Policy in Massachusetts. Can It Succeed?
The New Commonwealth Fund is on a mission to tackle systemic racism and the racial funding gap. Its latest grants include a data-driven effort to show how criminal justice policy in the Bay State adversely affects youth of color.
This CZI Spinoff’s New Funding Tells a More Nuanced Story About Criminal Justice Reform
The Just Trust’s new Safer Communities Accelerator is getting behind groups “working within the system and outside of it.” The trust’s overall approach involves funding direct services as well as broader justice reform advocacy.
Nine Questions for Lourdes J. Rodríguez, the David Rockefeller Fund’s New CEO
Dr. Lourdes J. Rodríguez recently took the helm at the David Rockefeller Fund, which is undergoing a “generational evolution.” We spoke about how she’s approaching the job, changes at the fund, and great science fiction.
With a Broad Agenda and A-List Backers, Sandy Hook Promise Is a Fundraising Powerhouse
Sandy Hook Promise recently held a high-profile benefit in remembrance of the elementary school shooting 10 years ago. The event underscored the group’s success, both in attracting major donors and getting results.
Philanthropy Needs a New Normal: Here Are 3 Ways We’re Reimagining Our Grantmaking
Nonprofits are responding in the moment to a flurry of fast-moving challenges. In this guest opinion, director of programs at the Langeloth Foundation shares three ways they’ve adapted to meet grantees’ needs.
With Backing from Kresge, Operation Restoration Gives Formerly Incarcerated Women a Leg Up
Upon their release, formerly incarcerated women face steep barriers. Founded by a restorative justice leader who served time herself, Operation Restoration channels philanthropic resources to provide assistance.
A Criminal Justice Reform Funder Expands its Footprint, State by State
The Just Trust, a criminal justice spinoff of CZI, is adding four more states to its strategy for reform. Here are the details on why the grantmaker is funding where it is, and how it plans to get to all 50 states.
