The Circle for Justice Innovations Strategic Opportunities Support (SOS) Microgrant Circle is a funding mechanism that issues micro-grants to eligible organizations addressing critically urgent strategic calls to action and meeting emergency community needs.
Donor Name: Circle for Justice Innovations (CJI)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/16/2026
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Circle for Justice Innovations (CJI) is committed to resourcing and following the leadership of formerly incarcerated and directly impacted people –recognizing that meaningful change is driven by those closest to the harm. They believe this moment demands speed, trust, and sustained investment in FIP-led solutions that both respond to immediate threats and lay the groundwork for long-term transformation.
Funding Priorities
They support rapid response efforts that:
- Address increased criminalization and policing of youth
- Respond to immigration enforcement and ICE presence impacting communities
- Protect and defend transgender and gender-expansive leadership
- Interrupt or respond to state violence, surveillance, or repression
- Advance time-sensitive, nonpartisan civic engagement aligned with 501(c)(3) guidelines in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections.
- Short-term, high-impact efforts, including:
- Rapid response organizing, mobilization, or direct action
- Community safety strategies and alternatives to policing
- Legal support, know-your-rights efforts, and emergency response
- Narrative and communications strategies to counter criminalization
- Base-building and power-building led by directly impacted communities
Principles
CJI is grounded in the belief that ending mass incarceration, criminalization, and deportation requires:
- Leadership of formerly incarcerated people (FIP) and directly impacted communities
- Community-led safety strategies that reduce reliance on policing and punishment
- Rapid, flexible resources that meet the pace of on-the-ground conditions
- A commitment to racial, gender, and immigrant justice, recognizing how systems of harm are interconnected
- Nonpartisan civic engagement as a critical tool for protecting communities and shifting power.
Funding Information
Grants Up to $7,500.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for an SOS Grant, organizations must:
- Be led by formerly incarcerated and/or directly impacted people
- Propose work that is responsive to current events or threats
- Be a 501(c)(3) organization or be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization with a MOU.
For more information, visit Circle for Justice Innovations.
