America’s criminal justice system is dysfunctional and unfair. The U.S. incarceration rate is far higher than every comparable country in the world, while police violence is a constant source of anger in many communities. Despite a draconian system, American crime and violence rates are worse than peer nations, undermining public safety. Below, we explain the importance of criminal justice reform, the different strategies donors can pursue in supporting reform, and advice for donors getting started.

Why Donating for Criminal Justice Reform is Important

The movement for criminal justice reform has made huge strides in the past decade, with organizers and advocates pushing for changes to laws, policies and practices to end police brutality, reduce mass incarceration, and eliminate systemic racial disparities. At the same time, this movement is facing a major backlash as many communities grapple with high crime rates and as right-wing media and politicians work to amplify public safety concerns. Donors have an important role to play in fortifying an ongoing push to reform criminal justice policies. Much work is required in such areas as unfair pretrial detention practices, excessive sentencing, solitary confinement, juvenile justice and more. In addition, donor support is needed to scale up promising community-based approaches to reducing violence and improving public safety. 

Where to Donate for Criminal Justice Reform

• Groups engaged in grassroots organizing around criminal justice and policing. Many groups are working to keep up public pressure on elected officials and other policymakers to sustain criminal justice reform. Organizations for donors to consider include the Alliance for Safety and Justice, a national group that supports state level criminal justice reform campaigns, many of which have a strong grassroots component; the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, which trains women to organize for reform; the Working Families Party, which engages in electoral organizing to elect progressive prosecutors and sheriffs; and Color of Change, which engages in digital organizing campaigns. State and local groups to consider include New York-based Communities United for Police Reform, the Florida-based Dream Defenders, the Texas Civil Rights Project and JusticeLA.

• Organizations engaged in policy advocacy. While grassroots organizing helps build momentum for change, policy advocacy is the vital next step to convince governments to change laws, rules and systems. Some of the organizations advocating for criminal justice reform include Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Bail Project, Recidiviz, the Sentencing Project and Vera Institute of Justice.

• Media and research organizations working to change the meta-narrative. Crime is one of the most narrative-driven issues in American politics, with public opinion veering wildly between a desire for more equitable justice and “get-tough-on crime” crackdowns. By supporting efforts to change the narrative around public safety, donors can help shift public attitudes and opinions towards a more nuanced, evidence-based and empathetic understanding of criminal justice issues. Donors should consider supporting journalism with a focus on criminal justice, like The Appeal and The Marshall Project; media watchdogs advocating for more equitable and thoughtful coverage, like Color of Change; and organizations that conduct research and advance new ideas on criminal justice, like the Prison Policy Initiative and the Center for Justice Innovation.

For Donors Getting Started

• Learn more about criminal justice and police reform. Donors can learn a lot about criminal justice issues by reading reports, briefs and blog posts found on the websites of those organizations listed above. To better understand how a range of funders approach this area, donors should check out Inside Philanthropy’s coverage of criminal justice philanthropy and also IP’s white paper “Giving for Criminal Justice.”

• Connect with like-minded donors. There are a number of funds, collaboratives and donor circles in the criminal justice space, including The Justice Fund, Funders for Justice, Circle for Justice Innovations and the Communities Transforming Policing Fund at Borealis Philanthropy.

• Think about your giving in the bigger picture. Many efforts to reform criminal justice and policing aim to build power in communities of color so that those people most deeply affected by these issues have a great voice in setting policy. Donors can support such power-building in a range of ways, such as investing in movement-building organizations and voter engagement work.