SPARK GRANTEE PARTNER, ALABAMA JUSTICE
SPARK GRANTEE PARTNER, THE FINAL 5 CAMPAIGN
The Spark Justice Fund (SJF) resources grassroots groups working to decarcerate, redirect resources from jails to communities, and transform our collective vision of community-led safety and justice.
The SJF was launched in 2019 and has moved more than $12.7 million to 62 organizations!
SPARK GRANTEE PARTNER, LOUISIANA ORGANIZATION FOR REFUGEES & IMMIGRANTS
The Latest from the SJF
The SJF prioritizes funding for:
- Decarcerative policy reform and/or policy implementation efforts to end cash bail and other key policy drivers of jail populations.
- Campaigns to close jails or stop jail expansion and drive investment into the communities most impacted by incarceration.
- The creation of innovative, community-driven alternatives to pretrial detention.
And working on:
- Policy Reforms and Budget Advocacy: Changing standard operations in the criminal legal system through amending, repealing, or reforming laws—including work to divest from mass incarceration by encouraging city and state officials to prioritize investments in research-backed programs that reduce mass incarceration and increase public safety.
- Jail Closure Campaigns: Closing and stopping the construction of jail facilities, reducing the number of beds, and minimizing the number of individuals who can be incarcerated for low-level offenses in localities.
- Abolishing Cash Bail: Eliminating cash bail to reduce racial and economic inequities in the criminal legal system by allowing courts to ignore one’s ability to pay as a condition of release and instead focus on other factors for pretrial detention.
- Piloting Community-Led Alternatives to Safety: Creating small-scale projects intended to challenge the status quo and prove the viability of reducing incarceration through safe, effective alternatives.
- Mutual Aid and Power Building: Meeting the urgent survival needs of communities impacted by mass incarceration.
What The SJF does not fund:
- Direct services work that is not connected to advocacy/organizing to address systemic issues
- Training for police officers
- Police-Led Associations, Foundations, or Athletic Leagues
- University-led research and centers
- Individuals
- Government entities
- International projects
The SJF Grantmaking Process
The Spark Justice Fund works closely with an Advisory Committee that contributes thought leadership and insight to guide our grant-making efforts. This advisory role was established to involve a diverse array of stakeholders in meaningful discussions aimed at exploring the national landscape, incorporating best practices, identifying emerging innovations, and amplifying the voices and experiences of those most affected.
Current Funding Opportunities
Recognizing the challenging and hostile environments that organizations are operating in, particularly during this significant election year, the SJF is now accepting requests for proposals to support organizations addressing our safety & security rapid response funding priorities. Proposals are currently being accepted. The SJF Team will continue accepting applications until our funding designated for this support is depleted. All grant proposals will be reviewed by SJF team members and a grantmaking advisory committee. The SJF Team will notify all applicants about the status of their proposal once our funding allocation for this support has been depleted. See the RFP for more details.
Donor Benefits
The Spark Justice donor collaborative offers funders:
- Learning opportunities about the grassroots campaigns SJF is supporting for pretrial justice and racial justice.
- Updates about SJF’s current grantmaking priorities and the field of pretrial justice organizing and movement-building.
- Feedback from executive directors, specifically Black EDs, about what’s happening in the movement and ways to respond to organizers’ needs.
- Access to a community of donors invested in issues such as digital surveillance, pretrial detention, as well as closing jails and prisons.