The After Prison Initiative

Guidelines  |  Grantee List

Note: The After Prison Initiative will accept letters of inquiry for consideration in 2008 only from May 1 to August 1, 2008.

The United States has become a relentlessly punitive society characterized by an intolerance for risk and a readiness to criminalize an ever-broadening range of conditions and behaviors. Seemingly addicted to harsh punishment and retribution, the United States risks abandoning traditional democratic principles of fairness, moderation, restraint, and forgiveness.

A result of three decades of mass incarceration, the reentry phenomenon has exposed the self-justifying logic of a criminal justice system organized to produce and sustain an ever-growing caste of displaced, dispossessed, disenfranchised, and marginalized people. Characterized by harsh punishment and surveillance, criminal justice policies and practices disrupt families, destabilize communities, and undermine public safety. The multiple barriers to reentry after prison are also an index of the multiple failures of civil institutions.

The United States spends billions of dollars to disproportionately cycle poor people of color in and out of prison, while divesting from neighborhood infrastructure and civil institutions. Racism, poverty, and political isolation, and the implications of neglecting their impact—chronic homelessness, detachment from the labor force, mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, school failure, and family collapse—lead many back to prison. To reverse this trend, The After Prison Initiative supports projects that reorient the mission and resources of criminal justice and prison systems to maximize successful reentry and minimize incarceration; and that strengthen civil society institutions and infrastructure in high-impact communities.

Both causes and effects of political and civic disenfranchisement, mass incarceration, perpetual punishment, and the persistent stigma of a criminal conviction marginalize individuals and entire communities. By targeting poor communities of color, the criminal justice system effectively excludes them from participation in the political and civic process. In response, The After Prison Initiative supports projects that promote civic and political inclusion and re-enfranchisement.

In addition to short-term and pragmatic strategies aimed at garnering bipartisan support for reinvestment and reform, The After Prison Initiative supports projects that rethink crime and punishment and promote a progressive vision of justice for the 21st century.

Funding Priorities

Reorient the mission and resources of criminal justice and prison systems to maximize successful reentry and minimize incarceration. Strategies include:

• Shrinking prison and jail populations at sufficient scale to generate savings for reinvestment in the civil society institutions and reentry infrastructure of high-impact communities (Justice Reinvestment, Phase 1)
• Creating incentives to institutionalize criminal justice policies and practices that foster successful reentry
• Increasing transparency and accountability in prison and corrections systems

Strengthen civil society institutions and infrastructure in high-impact communities. Strategies include:

• Supporting reentry infrastructure in high-impact communities through reinvested justice dollars (Justice Reinvestment, Phase 2)
• Increasing access to housing, health and mental health care, education, and employment
• Fostering cross-sector and multi-agency government collaboration and accountability for reentry
• Promoting the rights and well-being of children whose parents are or were incarcerated

Promote civic and political inclusion and re-enfranchisement. Strategies include:

• Expanding the civic engagement, participation, and leadership of people with criminal records in justice policy debate and reform
• Securing voting rights and political enfranchisement for high-impact communities
• Promoting education in and after prison to enhance democracy, civic participation, and public service
• Promoting the rights and civic/political participation of women with criminal convictions

Rethink crime and punishment for the 21st century. Strategies include:

• Encouraging discussion and debate among scholars, public intellectuals, practitioners, advocates, community activists, and other stakeholders
• Developing a progressive infrastructure for reentry and justice reform
• Fostering connections between theory and practice

Eligibility

The After Prison Initiative provides funding for projects that address one or more of the above focus areas and strategies through at least one of the following tactics:

• Policy advocacy
• Coalition-building
• Community organizing
• Public education
• Impact litigation
• Policy-driven research and analysis

The After Prison Initiative will consider proposals from advocacy groups, community groups, scholarly or research institutions, government agencies, associations of elected officials, and nonprofit business associations or initiatives. In all priority areas, The After Prison Initiative looks for projects that prioritize the participation and leadership of people with criminal records.

Ineligibility

The After Prison Initiative does not provide funding for:

• Programs or direct services
• Lobbying activities
• Start-up costs or seed monies
• Annual fundraising drives
• Projects undertaken by individuals
• General support (for first-time grantees)
• Capital costs, including equipment or real estate purchases/renovations
• Film production or post-production

Letters of Inquiry

To be considered for funding, applicants who meet the above criteria should submit a complete letter of inquiry via email to tapi@sorosny.org during the application period only (see below).

Letters of inquiry should be 1–3 pages in length (including project budget). Do not submit supporting materials, such as brochures, press clips, newsletters, annual reports, websites, etc. Inquiries received outside the application period, incomplete inquiries and inquiries by telephone, mail, or fax will not be considered.

All letters of inquiry must include:

• Full contact information for the principal project contact, including mailing address, phone, fax, and email
• Description of the organization that will undertake the proposed project
• Description of the project for which funds are sought, including a specific description of how the project’s goals will be achieved
• Preliminary project budget and amount requested (there is no minimum or maximum request)

2008 Application Period

Letters of inquiry for new projects will be accepted between May 1 and August 1, 2008, ONLY.

Applicants will be notified via email within 1-2 weeks of receipt that their requests have been received. Decisions will be made by September 1, after which time candidates will receive a letter of declination or an invitation to submit a full proposal. During the review period, The After Prison Initiative is not able to respond to inquiries regarding the status of a funding request.