Given the incredible influx of $$ for some organizations, this list encourages you to donate to organizations whose use of money is especially effective and/or organizations that haven’t received as much attention.
Bail funds are always a good place to direct money. Consider giving to the Community Justice Exchange’s Covid 19 Emergency Response Fund
**or to funds in:
New York Immigrant Freedom Fund
Or find a state you love on this National Bail Fund Network’s exhaustive list.
Reclaim The Block compiled a great list of local justice orgs in Minneapolis. Give to one of those.
Alliance for Safety and Justice: https://allianceforsafetyandjustice.org/ works with leaders and advocates to advance state reform.
Florida Rights Restoration Commission https://floridarrc.com/ fought for Ammendment 4 and is “dedicated to ending the disenfranchisement and discrimination against people with convictions.” Amendment 4 restored voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions (after they complete all terms of their sentence and not those convicted of especially heinous crimes). Now the state legislature is trying to override this decision. Who better to vote for criminal justice reform than those who’ve been in the system?
You can also make a donation to a local politician running for a contested election whose vision for anti-racism and criminal justice reform impresses you.
Below are my suggestions from last week. Make sure you check the organizations website/twitter page to make sure they would still benefit from donations:
Suggestions:
Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions#solutionsoverview
Offers justice solutions nation-wide by advocating for “limiting police interventions, improving community interactions, and ensuring accountability.”
Black Visions Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/about
A black-led legal fund and social justice advocacy group in Minneapolis-St. Paul
Reclaim the Block: https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/home/#about
A Minneapolis organization whose goal is to reallocate the city’s money away from the police department and toward “community-led safety initiatives.”
The Minnesota Freedom Fund and Brooklyn Bail Fund have received a lot of support (great). Here’s a comprehensive list of OTHER community bail funds: donate to one in a place you’re connected to: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory
Or donate to: The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/
What is a bail fund? A bail fund collects money for the purpose of posting monetary bail for those in jail on pre-trial detention. Some bail funds are also working to legally end cash bail. Why is bail bad? ← click to read some reasons.
Other legal approaches to reform:
National Lawyers Guild: https://www.nlg.org/donate/
Legal support for “labor struggles, international rights monitoring, mass defense of political speech, rebuffing attacks on immigrants, women, people of color, LGBTQ persons, prisoners, and others facing government and institutional oppression.”
NAACP Legal Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/
Supports racial justice through advocacy, litigation, and education.
ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/issues/racial-justice legal services for civil rights causes