REFORM Alliance is proud to announce a new Community Grants program in Pennsylvania, with a focus on Philadelphia.
The grant program is part of a national commitment from REFORM to invest $500,000 a year in front-line service organizations and leaders serving justice-impacted communities.

 

 

TIMELINE

  • March 1, 2022 – RFP released to organizations.
  • March 2, 2022 – March 29, 2022: Requests for Proposal (RFP) may be submitted. [email protected] RFPs submitted after 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on March 29, 2022, will not receive a response.
  • March 15, 2022 – Information Session
  • April 4, 2022 – April 6, 2022 – Evaluation of Proposals. REFORM reserves the right to contact individual proposers to request revised proposals or more information.
  • April 11, 2022: REFORM notifies each organization by e-mail whether its proposal was selected

REFORM CONTACT

Please email us at [email protected] for any questions, comments, or assistance with the application.  Please include the best number to contact you at.

REFORM APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

All proposals must be submitted electronically via the grant form  HERE

SUMMARY

The REFORM Alliance is soliciting grant applications from qualified Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) serving Pennsylvania residents – for its FY22 Community Grant. The unjust re-imprisonment of Meek Mill sparked a movement that ultimately led to the creation of the REFORM Alliance. In November 2017, a Philadelphia judge gave Mill a controversial two to a four-year prison sentence for minor technical probation violations. That shocking sentence spurred the international #FreeMeek movement and ultimately resulted in Mill’s release in April 2018. During this process, Michael Rubin, Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, Van Jones, and Robert Kraft were among several leaders to publicly advocate for Meek’s release and acknowledge that problems with the criminal justice system extended well beyond his case.  After Meek’s release, he and a group of influential leaders in business and philanthropy came together and committed to change laws that keep millions of others trapped in this flawed system, launching REFORM Alliance.

REFORM is seeking requests for proposals from organizations that provide services to and for formerly incarcerated individuals focused on the following areas:

FUNDING PRIORITY

  1. Education
  2. Jobs & Economic Development
  3. Public Safety
  4. Civic Engagement
  5. Health & Wellness

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must meet all of the following conditions:

  • be a Community-Based Organization with a Federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
  • the organization or program serves Pennsylvania residents or business owners;
  • the organization’s principal place of business is located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
  • all services and programming must be provided in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
  • the organization is currently registered in good standing
  • Preference will be given to applicants that demonstrate strong evidence of responding to one of REFORM Alliance’s funding priorities

GRANT PERIOD

Successful proposals will be funded for approximately one year,  commencing on a date to be determined.

ABOUT REFORM

There are currently 6.6 million people in the justice system in the United  States and about 4 million people who are currently on probation and parole.  Every four minutes, someone is sent to prison for a technical violation, costing taxpayers $2.8 billion each year. Parole and probation have become a web of confusing and ineffective conditions that keep people trapped in a revolving door from probation and parole to prison, excluding people reentering society from wellness and economic stability. We believe that the United States can significantly reduce the number of people under government control while dramatically increasing community safety.

We seek to transform probation and parole by changing laws, systems, and culture to create real pathways to work and wellbeing. A justice system that holds people accountable and redirects them back to work and wellbeing leads to stronger families and safer communities. Instead of keeping people trapped in a revolving door from probation/parole to prison — which costs taxpayers billions of dollars  — we’re working to move people from the justice system into stability.

REFORM would not be possible, and the mission of REFORM cannot be accomplished, without the work of organizations in the field that have long been committed to the fight for criminal justice reform.