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Gideon ProjectThe mission of the OSI Gideon Project is to improve the fair administration of criminal justice in the United States. The project awards grants in three areas affecting youth and adults in the criminal justice system.
Funding Priorities
Funding Area 1: Improving Public Defense Services
OSI’s commitment to improving public defense arises from two beliefs: that the fairness of our adversarial system of justice depends on the presence of able and zealous defense counsel; and that good defense advocacy reduces inappropriate incarceration by bringing important mitigating facts about an offender’s background or potential for rehabilitation to the court’s attention.
Priorities for funding within this area of public defense are: 1) advocacy to promote increased governmental support for defense services, including public education, grassroots advocacy, defender management training, and litigation; 2) the creation of networks for defense counsels that provide training, oversight, and information-sharing opportunities; 3) community-oriented defense advocacy that uses problem-solving methodologies to address and/or resolve issues underlying individual clients’ criminal behavior, or that partners with local communities to promote fair and effective criminal justice policies for all residents.
Funding Area 2: Death Penalty Reform
The United States is one of a dwindling number of nations to retain the death penalty. Within the U.S., the capital punishment system is being increasingly exposed as one marked by arbitrariness, mistakes and discrimination. Race, poverty, and local politics—as much as the seriousness of the crime—often inform decisions about who will be prosecuted and given a capital sentence. A study released in 2000 by Columbia University researchers revealed that 68 percent of all death sentences imposed since 1976 have been reversed for serious errors such as prosecutorial mistake, sloppy forensic science, poor counsel, and eyewitness error. Since 1973, 126 death-row prisoners have been found innocent of the crimes charged.
The Gideon Project funds grassroots, policy and legal advocacy organizations that pursue innovative strategies for reducing or abolishing the use of capital punishment as a response to crime. Funding is not available for routine case costs.
Funding Area 3: Racial Profiling
Although law enforcement has long targeted disfavored populations for criminal surveillance, only recently has the practice of racial profiling received scrutiny from national media and policy makers. During the 1980s and 1990s, the use of criminal profiles increased markedly as federal and local enforcement agencies trained officers to target African Americans and other groups for narcotics surveillance. Although African Americans are no more likely to use or sell drugs than white Americans are, some in law enforcement defend the practice on the circular logic that racial minorities are more likely to be arrested and convicted for contraband offenses. Such practices not only fuel misperceptions about criminality and disproportionate rates of minority incarceration, they also undermine trust and confidence in police and in the justice system generally.
The Gideon Project funds research that documents the practice of racial profiling (particularly research that links the practice to the war on drugs and its impact on communities of color), and advocacy for stemming its use as a legitimate means of law enforcement.
Applications for Funding
To be considered for funding, submit a complete letter of inquiry to Jill Sowards (jsowards@sorosny.org), via email only. 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. Incomplete inquiries will not be considered.
All letters of inquiry must include:
- Full contact information for the principal project contact, including mailing address, phone, fax, and e-mail;
- A description of the organization that will undertake the proposed project;
- A description of the project for which funds are sought, including a specific description of how the project’s goals will be achieved; and
- A preliminary project budget and amount requested (there is no minimum or maximum request).
Deadline
The Gideon Project accepts inquiries on a rolling basis. Please allow 1-3 months for a decision on your inquiry, at which time you will receive a letter of declination or an invitation to submit a full proposal.
Eligibility
The Gideon Project provides funding for policy reform, including the following strategies:
- Advocacy
- Coalition-building
- Public education
- Impact litigation
- Policy-driven research and analysis
- Leadership development
- Model programs
The Gideon Project will consider letters of inquiry from advocacy groups, community groups, scholarly or research institutions, government agencies, associations of elected officials, and nonprofit business associations or initiatives.
The Gideon Project does NOT provide funding for:
- Lobbying activities
- Programs or direct services
- 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
Contact Information
Jill Sowards
jsowards@sorony.org
U.S. Justice Fund
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019
fax: (212) 548-4666
