Dear Community,
Each time I sit down to write a newsletter, report, or an update for a funder, my instinct is to start by addressing the unique moment the world is in. I do this so often, because the environment that criminal justice reform operates in is always changing. It’s our only constant. Funders love it. Funders hate it. Winning is easy. Winning is hard. Global pandemic, social upheaval. Crime is up. Crime is down. Conflicts, stock markets, competing priorities. Election cycle, off cycle, and back around again. If I’ve learned anything in my years as an advocate and now philanthropist, it’s that we will never consistently live in the perfect set of conditions for progress. And that’s ok. We can’t always change the tides, but we CAN build a ship capable of weathering any storm.
When I launched The Just Trust in 2021, I knew I wanted to build something that would plan for the next several generations of reform – with clear and unwavering north stars – that could also adapt to the moment, shift strategies, and help keep the field on its toes. That’s the work we’re powering every day. Not just through grant dollars, but with every tool in our toolbelt. If it’s not the right moment to push a bill, we’re here with funding and strategic support for education, communications, and base building. If we see false narratives about crime and reform gripping the country, we’re conducting messaging research, engaging the media, and investing in powerful counter narratives about safety and solutions. And if polling continues to show that a majority of Americans – Democrats and Republicans – want a better, fairer justice system that also keeps people safe – we’ll keep working towards that, every day.
These are all examples of our comprehensive, context-driven, hands on approach to reform. With the right level of sustained funding and support, the field CAN meet the moment and get things done, even when it’s hard (like this past year). We saw it with the Law Enforcement Action Partnership launching Dayton Ohio’s first community responder program – diverting hundreds of nonviolent police calls in the first 3 months and reducing arrests in the community. It’s the Prison Policy Initiative publishing research that led the FCC to cap telecommunications fees for incarcerated people, helping keep families connected. It’s the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, the Sentencing Project, and others ending juvenile life without parole in 3 states last year, giving thousands of kids the possibility for redemption and a full, vibrant life. It’s Dream.org Empathy Leaders who passed HB2535 in Oregon, providing pregnant women in prison access to doulas and a dignified birth experience.
This is the next generation of reform in action. And these are the layers of our work at The Just Trust that we’re sharing with you in this report. Not just the shiny stuff, but the messy and sometimes nonlinear sauce in between. In my opinion, that’s where the magic happens, and where our incredible team and amazing network of partners shine the brightest.
At The Just Trust, we are active agents in the fight to create a smaller, more humane engine of safety and justice in this country. For us, that means wrapping strategic support around each dollar we move to the field. We cultivate high levels of mutual trust with our partners, and we engage deeply with them to get the work done. Why? Because we believe that effective partnerships are not just passive, nor are they directive; they’re collaborative, full of communication, and centered on how best to reach shared goals.
That’s why The Just Trust for Education and The Just Trust for Action do a lot more than give grants. Every day, our teams are using every tool in our toolbelts to build systems that better serve us.
The impact of behind the scenes collaboration can sometimes be tough to show, so this time, we thought we'd tell. Hear from three of our Senior Program Officers about some recent wins that articulate the benefit of high trust, high engagement partnerships.
Neha Raval, Senior Program Officer, on the work to power public safety innovations that prioritize community wellbeing and reduce reliance on incarceration.
James Gore, Senior Program Officer, on the tough fight to protect automatic record clearing in North Carolina.
Rebecca Greenberg, Senior Program Officer, on building diverse coalitions to pass a groundbreaking domestic survivorship bill in Oklahoma.
Data from The Just Trust’s 2023-2024 annual grantee survey
of grantees reported receiving advice from a Just Trust staff member related to national trends in criminal justice reform
of grantees reported that The Just Trust introduced or connected them to other grantees in the field with a similar policy position
of grantees reported receiving strategic advisory support from The Just Trust related to a policy or campaign they were working on
of grantees reported working with The Just Trust to create effective messaging for a specific audience or issue
of grantees reported that someone at The Just Trust facilitated an introduction to a funder they weren’t previously in contact with
of grantees reported that The Just Trust introduced or connected them to other grantees in the field with a different policy position
Passing and blocking bills is a critical ingredient for making change, but advocacy as a practice is a lot more than that. It’s a highly sophisticated set of tools for getting things done, one that requires us to read the room and deploy the right tool at the right time. That’s why The Just Trust does a lot more than policy advocacy. We support base and power building, education, messaging and storytelling, and generally speaking, laying the groundwork needed to advance better policies, block harmful ones, and help implement laws when the time is right.
Here are just some examples of non-policy efforts that are also wins for the field. The next generation requires us to rethink what it means to win, and how we can center and celebrate gains beyond just a bill.
The Just Trust worked closely with FFC to conduct tailored public opinion and messaging research to help the organization develop a strategy, messaging frame, and ad campaign focused on creating unity and incentive among conservatives on this issue.
The Just Trust partnered with SBM to poll small business owners across the country on the topics of crime and safety. Results revealed broad support for front end safety solutions and preventative models, challenging the dominant political narrative that businesses want tough on crime policies.
In 2024, our partners at Recidiviz have already helped over 17,000 people move out of the justice system who remained under supervision or in prison due to bad data. The Just Trust makes strategic investments in tools and technologies that safely shrink the footprint of the justice system – less people going in, more people coming home when they should. We're proud to partner closely with Recidiviz in their work to do just that.
Base building, education, and storytelling
Preventing harmful policy from moving forward
Engaging leaders and grasstops in justice issues
Grassroots organizing asking constituents to take action
Preventing rollbacks to protect past wins
Writing educational reports about reforms or justice system issues
Implementing public policy
Community mobilization (marches, town halls, lobby days)
Speaking of non-legislative work that REALLY matters right now…
The constant barrage of crime reporting and stigmatizing storytelling helps fuel the status quo. It creates fear, which leads to reactive policy, which harms communities and actually makes us less safe in the long run. The next generation of justice reform needs to take back the narrative on safety, stop outsized crime narratives in their tracks, and clear the runway for solutions-focused work.
The Just Trust partners with news outlets across the country – national, state, and local – to enable safety and justice reporting that:
Transforming Crime Reporting
For the first time in history, the AP Style Guide now includes an entire chapter of guidance for criminal justice issues. It was "primarily written by a team of AP criminal justice reporters and editors, who attended training by Poynter and others and consulted with The Marshall Project among additional research.”
The Just Trust funds Poynter’s crime reporting training program, and has been a longtime supporter of The Marshall Project.
“Our training program exists to help transform crime coverage in America, for good. If this work has a ten year timeline, the new AP chapter shaved 2-3 years off.”
North Carolina Media Workshop
The Just Trust supported a one-day workshop on criminal justice reporting – the first of its kind in the state – led by our partners at The Raleigh News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer, in partnership with the NC Local News Lab. The event was open to all journalists, editors, and staff that focus on justice and safety across the state. It offered training sessions around a variety of topics, including source diversification, leveraging local court data, language training, and network building. The Marshall Project (another partner of The Just Trust) also participated.
People get information and form opinions through the news they consume. But our values and beliefs are often shaped through story. Storytelling – through film, podcasts, art projects and other creative vehicles – is how our hearts get bigger. The Just Trust’s dual pronged strategy focusing on both news media infrastructure and culture shaping storytelling is central to our theory of change.
Live Tour
In 2023, we partnered with our grantees at Ear Hustle to do their first live tour, reaching thousands of people across the country with new stories about real people behind bars.
Sing Sing Screening Campaign
In 2024, we launched a partnership with A24 around their new film Sing Sing, helping 40 grantees of The Just Trust hold co-branded screening events in their communities. They curated panels, invited speakers and policy makers, and held fundraisers for their work.
of our Media & Narrative grantees focused storytelling on the possibilities for a justice system that prioritizes prevention, safety, and rehabilitation over punishment alone.
of our Media grantees (newsrooms) started or expanded their coverage of criminal justice and safety issues.
of our Media grantees (newsrooms) reported taking new actions to move from single-source stories to using multiple sources in reporting on criminal justice and public safety issues.
of our Media grantees (newsrooms) ensured a majority of criminal justice stories included solutions in addition to or instead of identifying only problems.
Criminal justice reform isn’t one thing, and it’s not one group of people advancing it. This movement is a deeply diverse mosaic of state, national, and local efforts to create better, more humane, more just systems of accountability and rehabilitation – systems that absolutely contribute to safety, as well as to the restoration of families and communities.
Hear from a few of our incredible partners working day in and day out for the justice system people want and deserve. This work doesn’t always make headlines, but we SEE you.
%2520-%2520United%2520Way-200px.png)
Sometimes when you're always on the move, you forget to look back and appreciate all the places you've been. Here's a quick reminder of what our team has been up to in the last year.
Swipe to scroll →
Ana Zamora speaks at the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice’s American Workforce & Justice Summit.
new York, NY, October 2023
Rebecca Greenberg joins Families Against Mandatory Minimums for a panel discussion on advocacy at their Second Chances Working Group.
New Orleans, LA, November 2023
Neha Raval joins a panel discussion about the relationship between philanthropy and crisis management at CrisisCon: The National Crisis Continuum Conference.
Charlotte, NC, November 2023
The Just Trust hosts Ear Hustle’s first ever live tour.
Los Angeles, CA, December 2023
The Just Trust team retreat.
Houston, TX, 2024
Ana Zamora, Dr. Yusef Salaam, and Former Police Chief Clark Kimerer speak about safety narratives, policing, and reform at a Day of Unreasonable Conversation.
Los Angeles, CA, March 2024. Credit Kai Byrd Photography
The Just Trust’s Founder and CEO was featured on the TIME Person of the Week podcast. Listen here.
March 2024
Silas Horst speaks about the role of business in criminal justice reform at the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice.
Washington D.C., April 2024
Jolene Forman speaks on a panel about leveraging c4 tools to build lobbying power at The Clean Slate Initiative’s 2024 Annual Convening.
Philadelphia, PA, June 2024
Larry Miller, Chairman of the Jordan Brand at Nike, joins The Just Trust for Education board of directors.
June 2024
The Just Trust’s Safer Communities Accelerator annual convening brought together 14 state and national organizations.
Oklahoma City, OK, June 2024
Ana Zamora speaks with Colman Domingo and cast of A24’s Sing Sing at their DC premiere at the National African American Museum of History and Culture.
Washington D.C., July 2024
Jolene Forman speaks at the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Annual Convention.
Dallas, TX, July 2024
Thank you to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative for its early investment in The Just Trust. As we spend down that seed gift through our grantmaking strategy, we are thrilled to welcome a slate of new (c3) investors to the table to help us build the next generation of reform.
If you are interested in investing in The Just Trust as an intermediary funding vehicle and supporting justice reform across the country in any capacity, please contact us at partnerships@thejusttrust.org.
