Criteria

We look for movements, networks and organizations:

• that engage in campaigns and activities to create and seize political opportunities to further the goals of the program: to reduce the number of people incarcerated and expose and challenge human rights abuses of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people;
• that demonstrate an ability to educate, mobilize and effectively engage allies in strategic campaigns;
• whose strategies and activities are aligned with their goals and capacity as well as FNV goals;
• that are nimble and reflective and are able to adapt based on experiences, lessons and insights;
• where there is local, regional and/or national collaboration;
• where organizational structure, decision-making and the work reflects consistency between means and ends.

Other considerations:

• We value partnerships and ongoing relationships and see them as an opportunity to build trust and deepen learning and collaboration.
• We will consider groups who are taking risks, are creative, and who may not have an established track record but who have a vision, a plan, and the capacity to think strategically and are collaborating with a broader campaign.
• We will only consider funding research if it addresses an identified need to complement and advance campaign activities.
• We tend to support education and direct service efforts only as a complement of, or when tied to, social movement building and a larger social change process.

Geographic Focus and Scope of Work:

This program has a California focus.

We do not support:

One-time events or experiences that are not connected to broader campaigns or movement building;
Media production costs.