Circle for Justice Innovations - CJI

The Criminal Justice Initiative (www.cjifund.org) is a small (but growing), creative, accountable, and diverse funding organization poised to play a large role as a funder of the movement for justice and safety from mass criminalization and state-sanctioned violence. We are a grant making panel comprised of donors, donor-activists, and community organizers, who share authority and a passion for supporting meaningful, systemic change in the criminal justice system. Begun in 2000, CJI was born out of a growing concern with prison expansion, hyper-incarceration and its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities. CJI’s mission is to end mass incarceration and mass criminalization in the United States. We seek to do this by identifying, funding, and nurturing grassroots activism led by those most impacted by the criminal justice system. Each year we raise funds, engage in political education to determine a grant making focus, put out a call for proposals, evaluate them and make grants.