The Michigan Justice Fund’s Rapid Response Grant program will provide Michigan-based advocacy and direct service delivery organizations with funds to support time-sensitive resource needs or strategic opportunities, which advance the primary mission of the Fund and improve Michigan’s justice reform movement infrastructure and collaboration.
Donor Name: Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
State: Michigan
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: Ongoing
Size of the Grant: $1,500 – $10,000
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
The Fund is housed at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, a multi-faceted, full-service philanthropic organization leading the way to positive change in southeast Michigan. The Community Foundation promotes and facilitates community philanthropy in seven counties in southeast Michigan: Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, Livingston and St. Clair. They help donors invest in organizations they care about — locally and nationwide.
This Fund is designed to have impact in the following ways:
- Strengthen capacity of practitioners seeking to advance effective justice policy and practice in Michigan, support the economic mobility of individuals most impacted by the justice system, and intentionally support the leadership of people of color-led organizations on the frontlines of justice reform.
- Build a sustainable network of funders and donors who are informed and engaged to support safety and justice within Michigan communities.
- Shift the dominant narrative that associates community safety with incarceration to one that lifts economic security & mobility and access to health care and education as foundational to safe and just communities.
The specific Goals and Objectives of the Fund are as follows:
- Goal 1: Strengthen Michigan’s funding, policies and practices to support the economic mobility and overall success of people with criminal records.
- Objective: 1.1: Ensure a racial equity framework is used to guide public policy, funding and system change decisions.
- Objective 1.2: Decrease spending on justice system agencies and increase funding for community-led priorities.
- Objective 1.3: Increase innovation in policy and practice to decrease recidivism and improve economic mobility for system impacted people.
- Goal 2: Reduce the reliance on confinement and adjudication.
- Objective 2.1: Advance policy changes and system practices to reduce length of stay and administrative use of confinement.
- Objective 2:2: Increase the use of alternatives to incarceration and arrest and the public funding necessary for success.
- Objective 2.3: Increase the visibility of the presence of racial disparities across the justice system continuum to motivate change.
- Goal 3: Build a movement for communities to shape justice policies and funding.
- Objective 3.1: Support narrative change and communications strategies that shift public opinion about the need for justice system reform in Michigan.
- Objective 3.2: Build the political power of communities impacted by the justice system through cross sector collaboration, training, and organizing.
- Objective 3.3: Increase the use of compelling data and research to inform advocacy efforts.
- Objective 3.4: Support ripe and emerging opportunities that contribute to a strong enabling environment for reform.
Funding Information
Grants of $1,500 – $10,000 will be made on a rolling basis over the next two years.
Who is eligible to apply?
- Application organizations must be a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization in good standing with the IRS and have a certified financial audit, financial review, or filed a Form 990. Organizations that are fiscally sponsored are also eligible to apply.
- Applicant organizations must be Michigan-based.
- While grants to religious organizations are considered, sectarian religious programs are not eligible. For example, if we are to consider funding a request from a religious organization, we would only consider a program that is open to a wider community.
For more information, visit CFSM.
