Inside Philanthropy

Who's Funding What & Why

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Just Trust

OVERVIEW: The Just Trust is an offshoot of the the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. It supports criminal justice reform and related civic and journalistic projects in the U.S.

IP TAKE: An early IP article about the Just Trust noted that its establishment “cemented Chan Zuckerberg’s status as the largest justice reform funder in the U.S.” This funder prioritizes collaboration for maximum impact in the field, making grants to cohorts of organizations that collaborate on shared goals. Unlike other CZI vehicles, the Just Trust is approachable and welcomes grant inquiries via a form on website at any time.

PROFILE: Established in 2021, the Just Trust is an offshoot of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic collective of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. The Just Trust represents the couple’s $350 million commitment to the “fight[…]for safer communities and a smaller, smarter justice system” in the U.S. Its mission is to “tackle the incarceration crisis and address public safety side by side.”

The Just Trust is comprised of two separate entities: the Just Trust for Education, which focuses on “reform, advocacy and education work,” and the Just Trust for Action, which “funds legislative and other advocacy work” related to criminal justice reform.

Grants for Criminal Justice Reform, Civic Engagement and Democracy

While the Just Trust’s grantmaking and engagement focus on criminal justice reform, the trust names areas of focus that include political organizing and journalism projects that aim to “elevate justice reform.” Specific areas of focus include:

  • Providing general operating support to organizations advocating for criminal justice reform;

  • Supporting advocacy organizations with “campaign-related funding requests”;

  • Supporting community-level initiatives for “preventing crime, repairing harm, [and] centering accountability”;

  • Making grants for “media and narrative projects” that provide “community-driven coverage on this issue that gets people the information they need and does not reinforce stigmas or harm”;

  • Facilitating collaboration among stakeholders “to channel resources, expertise, and ultimately maximize impact”; and

  • Making rapid-response grants for “[c]ritical moment of crisis or opportunity.”

Still in its early period of operation, the Just Trust is so far runs two grant programs, but this may change quickly:

  • The Safer Communities Accelerator is a cohort-based project that brings together “organizations that are advancing innovative models for preventing crime, repairing harm, increasing accountability, and building stronger, safer communities.”

    • The program focuses on “community safety solutions that actually meet the needs of real people, and where arrest and incarceration are not the default.”

    • Participants in an early cohort received grants of $500,000 each, disbursed over a two-year period. Early participants include Equal Justice USA, the Baton Rouge Community Street Team and Oregon’s CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets).

  • The Just Trust’s State by State program is “focused on building up criminal justice reform advocacy infrastructure in all 50 states” and has initially elected to focus on cohorts of states with particularly high levels of “both need and opportunity around criminal justice reform.”

    • A first round of grants went to organizations working in Kentucky, North Carolina and West Virginia. More recently, the fund has given to organizations in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

    • Lists of grantees in each state are provided on the program page.

Important Grant Details:

The Just Trust’s early grants have been awarded in amounts of up to $500,000.

  • While this funder is exclusively focused on criminal justice reform in the U.S., it supports and collaborates with organizations of all sizes and supports related civic and journalistic projects.

  • This funder values collaboration and information sharing among its grantees, often awarding grants to cohorts of grantees working toward shared goals.

  • The Just Trust invites organizations working in areas of interest to submit grant inquiries via the form on its investments page at any time.

  • For information about past giving and engagement see the Just Trust’s news and annual report pages.

Submit general inquiries to the Just Trust via its contact page.

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