Deadline: 12-May-25
The Until She’s Free Circle, a fund of Circle for Justice Innovations, is seeking proposals from women, girls, trans and gender expansive people-led organizations tackling the Systems faced by incarcerated, detained, criminalized or formerly incarcerated women, girls, trans and gender expansive people.
They are committed to flanking organizations that are addressing current realities of incarcerated and criminalized women, girls, trans and gender expansive people and the innovative solutions needed to build power and create transformative systems change.
The Until She’s Free Circle (USF) is a participatory grant-making circle of community organizers, many with lived incarceration experience, alongside donors and donor-activists. The Until She’s Free Fund shares consensus decision making power and commitment to a Just Sisterhood process in philanthropy.
The Circle seeks to end the racialized carceral state, creating new frameworks for safety, and accountability models. This Circle was launched to provide vital support for addressing the criminal legal system’s impact on women, girls, trans and gender-expansive people, while uplifting their leadership in this critical work.
Funding Information
- The maximum grant request is $25K. The amounts are decided by the participatory circle of organizers and donors.
Funding Priorities
- Organizations operating in difficult political environments, e.g., in the presence of hostile political campaigns, antagonistic public figures, or repressive laws.
- Organizations that develop new leaders, especially Black and Brown people and those who are marginalized within their communities, e.g., poor, homeless, or young people; elders, queer or trans people; people with a different racial, religious, or ethnic heritage; people living with mental illness or physical disabilities.
- Leadership development that includes healing and/or personal transformation work, especially in communities that have endured generations of violence and trauma, and who may be currently enduring state violence.
- Work in underfunded communities, especially in the South, Midwest, Indigenous communities, undocumented, immigrant, or asylum-seeking communities
- Organizations with a clear and inclusive decision-making process for their constituents, members, and communities
Eligibility Criteria
- CJI will only fund the following:
- Organizations with a demonstrated commitment to the leadership of currently and formerly incarcerated women and girls, trans and gender expansive people
- Organizations committed to achieving fundamental systems change through mobilizing and organizing, including changes in policies or institutions, such as parole, probation, or other systems of control; and
- Organizations engaged in community organizing efforts. The primary focus of this grant process is to fund advocacy and systems change which aim to address serious injustice faced by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women, girls and gender non-conforming people.
- Organizations whose work is primarily focused on the United States, including U.S. territories.
Ineligibility Criteria
- Until She’s Free cannot support:
- Organizations that do not include the leadership of people formerly incarcerated or directly impacted by the criminal legal and/or immigrant systems.
- Organizations that receive funding from law enforcement agencies
- Direct assistance programs such as emergency housing, legal aid, or abortion funds, unless those programs are connected to long-term organizing strategies to demand such services from municipalities, states or the federal government.
- Political campaigns of individual candidates for office or passing legislation. However, they are eager to support organizing efforts that expand the rights of people in jails or prisons and formerly incarcerated people, or efforts that educate, mobilize, or inform potential voters about issues that impact women, girls and gender expansive communities hardest hit by the criminal legal system.
- Capital campaigns, galas or fundraising events.
For more information, visit Circle for Justice Innovations.
