With a focus on marginalized communities, the Fund for Nonviolence’s programs support social justice that moves people toward compassion. They work with an understanding that the world we live in is one that is shared and therefore whatever we all do affects everyone in it.
One of their programs, Justice with Dignity, seeks to support those who want to build a system of justice “that treats every human being with dignity.”
“[They] focus on the U.S. criminal justice system due to its active engagement in state-sponsored violence” and because of the way it discriminates against people who are marginalized because of color and economics. The Fund for nonviolence understands that “by disproportionately criminalizing and incarcerating members of these communities, and by systematically refusing to recognize the human rights of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, our justice system prioritizes prejudice, punishment, and control rather than humane interventions to social problems.”
“[They] seek partners who are working to change our punitive system into one that heals the long-term effects of current degrading practices and promotes healthy, safe communities for all of its members. They recognize that the work is a collective effort, generated and sustained by those directly affected by the criminal justice system—incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, families of incarcerated people, communities of color, and victims/survivors of crime—as well as by other allies, likely and unlikely, motivated by a range of experience that points to the need for a radical shift in our justice system as we have known it. To that end [the Fund for Nonviolence] supports the forging of networks and coalitions among organizations and funders whose collaborative work to transform the system is likely to have the most significant impact.”
“Because [they] believe that how we do our work fundamentally influences the results, [they] seek and encourage proposals that not only meet the criteria of our funding programs but also come from organizations that:
• pursue structural changes to root causes of race, class, and gender injustice
• value the active involvement of members of the communities most impacted by the violence and social injustice being addressed
• understand and articulate the impact of their work on women and promote the leadership of women within the organization
• work through networks, coalitions and alliances
• reflect the spirit of nonviolence in their organizational relations, structure, and process
• demonstrate the capacity to reflect on their experience and adapt to lessons and insights”
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Here are some organizations that have gotten funding from the Fund for Nonviolence:
Critical Resistance
Death Penalty Focus
The Ella Baker Center
Human Rights Watch
California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty
Youth Justice Coalition
Women’s Foundation of California
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Partnership for Safety and Justice
More About Fund for Nonviolence
Original text from Fund for Nonviolence Web site.
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