The Urban Institute and Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative are collaborating on the Catalyst Grant Program to help organizations use data and technology to advance racial equity and reform at the front end of the criminal legal system.
Donor Name: Urban Institute
States: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/17/2023
Size of the Grant: $40,000
Grant Duration: 8 months
Details:
Urban Institute is seeking project proposals that advance the focus areas of the Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative, which include supporting policies, programs, and practices that prevent unnecessary system involvement and decrease racial and ethnic disparities in policing and prosecution.
The goals of the Catalyst Grant Program include the following:
- To create a space for locally embedded nonprofit organizations to implement data- and technology-focused projects to advance racial equity and reform in the criminal legal system in the focus areas of prevention, policing, and prosecution.
- To enhance the technological and data capacity of nonprofit organizations focused on promoting justice and racial equity through project assistance, peer-learning opportunities, and financial support.
- To disseminate innovative practices and lessons learned during implementation to stakeholders throughout the criminal legal reform community.
The purpose of the grant is to support local activities related to advancing racial equity and reform in the front end of the adult criminal legal system through data and technology.
Funding Information
- Those selected to participate in the Catalyst Grant Program will benefit from $40,000 in funding to support project implementation expenses during the grant period;
- Light-touch expert project assistance on data, policy, and community engagement from Urban as needed;
- Access to Microsoft technology for nonprofits and related support as needed
- Virtual peer-learning opportunities with Urban, Microsoft, and other awardees; and
- Amplification of their work through public-facing communications such as blogs, webinars, or conference panels.
Project Activities
May 2024–December 2024
Project Requirements
Proposed projects and activities must do the following:
- Advance racial equity and reform at the front end of the criminal legal system, for instance, in
- prevention, including preventing law enforcement contact, diverting people from arrest or incarceration, interrupting violence in communities, and enabling alternative responders;
- policing, including decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in policing and community safety programs, policies, and practices; and
- prosecution, including decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in prosecution programs, policies, and practices.
- Focus on adults (18 and older).
- Incorporate data and technology
- Be locally focused, meaning focused on a specific neighborhood, city, county, or tribal area where the participating organizations have connections and trust with relevant local communities.
Grants will not be given to projects that specifically focus on
- people younger than 18,
- people who are currently incarcerated,
- people returning from incarceration, or
- activities at the state or national levels.
Eligibility Criteria
Organizations
Lead Applicant Organizations are seeking lead organizations that are locally embedded with demonstrated relationships and connections to the communities where project activities will occur. Understanding that inequities in the criminal legal system disproportionately affect people of color, particularly Black communities, it also focus on organizations that reflect these communities by having people of color in staff leadership and trusted relationships with communities of color. It encourages small community-based organizations to apply. Each organization may submit only one application. Eligibility requirements for lead applicant organizations are as follows:
- Lead applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations based in the United States.
- Colleges and universities are not eligible to be lead organizations but can be a partner organization with an eligible lead organization.
- Any organization that will be receiving funding from the Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative outside of the Catalyst Program as of January 2, 2024 is not eligible to be a lead applicant but can be a partner organization with an eligible lead organization.
Partner Organizations and Individuals
- A partner is any organization or individual outside of the lead applicant organization that is providing personnel or expertise necessary to key project tasks or deliverables, whether paid or unpaid. All partner organizations or individuals playing key roles in the proposed activities must be on the application, and their roles described in the proposal.
- As part of the application, you must provide a participation letter from partners (paid or unpaid, whether organizations or individuals), that confirms their commitment to participate in the project consistent with their role as described in the proposal.
- Organizations eligible to be partners include
- local, state, or national nonprofit organizations, with or without 501(c)(3) status;
- colleges or universities (public or nonprofit);
- local or state governments; and
- for-profit organizations.
- The above organizations can receive funding as part of the grant with the exception of local and state governments and their employees; they can be partners in proposed projects but cannot receive funds.
- Individuals may be partners on an application and may receive funding as part of the grant.
For more information, visit Urban Institute.
