All of us at CJI wish you a very happy, safe, and liberating Pride! CJI’s commitment to Queer liberation extends beyond today, this week, and this month. The struggle for Queer liberation is a lifelong undertaking, and one that is deeply entwined with the fight to end mass incarceration. One revolutionary movement cannot be successful…
The Leadership Circle is now accepting proposals for its 2024 grantmaking cycle! An informational webinar will be held on Wednesday, 5/29/24 at 3:30pm ET to review the proposal process and answer any questions you may have. Proposal materials and additional information about the Leadership Circle can be found on our website, here: cjifund.org/leadership-circle. The application deadline is Friday, 6/21/2024…
Hello, CJI Community! We hope you are all safe, happy, and well rested as we move into Spring. CJI has had quite a journey in the last year and a half, and we wanted to make sure you were all up to date on CJI’s initiatives and happenings as we move through a BIG 2024!…
The Circle for Justice Innovations Fund wishes to convey our sorrow at the profound loss of Harry Belafonte, an actor, singer, artist, philanthropist and formidable movement leader. Mr. Belafonte played a decisive role in the betterment of humanity all over the world, but he was particularly instrumental at critical junctures in U.S. history when courage…
The time is upon us. Our country is falling deeper into fascism, and our movement against the carceral state is a critical line of defense. The only thing oppression needs to win is for good people to do nothing. We cannot be neutral. While much needs to be done in the larger political arena, small…
Jan 16th, 2023 Today as we pay homage to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we must acknowledge him as a true anti-establishment radical and reject the whitewashing of his legacy. Dr. King’s words are often misconstrued and sanitized, which undermine liberation movements—”the Santa-Clausification” of Dr. King, as Dr. Cornel West aptly described in his book…
New Orleans will host CJI’s first-ever All-Circle Political Education Conference in July 2022! This special, three-day convening presents the very first occasion for CJI Circle members, volunteers, donors, staff, activists, peers, and innovators across CJI’s robust professional network to develop a shared vision for the future of our movement. Leveraging relationships with grantee partners…
With an average grant size of over $16,000, funding in 2021 reached 112 unique grassroots organizations innovating for dignity and justice in 34 states and the District of Columbia. We are extremely proud of our ability to support some of the most impactful organizations across the country in recent years, but we will never…
CJI is seeking proposals for our Strategic Opportunities Support (SOS) Rapid Response Circle, a source of micro-grants (up to $5,000) to eligible organizations addressing immediate, emergency needs and critically urgent strategic organizing opportunities in their communities. This year, the Fund is focused on supporting: Responses to disasters that impact an organization’s ability to carry…
The United States is suffering from a drug overdose epidemic. In November 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released provisional data from its National Center for Health Statistics showing that more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the U.S. over a 12-month period ending in April 2021. Precipitated in part by…