Phoebus Criminal Justice Initiative for Community Groups (Pennsylvania)

The Phoebus Criminal Justice Initiative provides grants to organizations using community organizing for criminal justice reform.

Donor Name: Bread & Roses Community Fund

State: Pennsylvania

County: Philadelphia County/city (PA), Bucks County (PA), Chester County (PA), Delaware County (PA), Montgomery County (PA), Camden County

Type of Grant: Grant

Type of Entity: Community Groups

Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 12/01/2021

Size of the Grant: $2,000 to $6,000

Details:

Grantees target issues that include (but are not limited to) police accountability, racially biased sentencing policies, growth of the for-profit prison industry, criminalization of youth, and the death penalty.

The Phoebus Criminal Justice Initiative makes grants to community groups that are building a base for taking collective action against injustices within the criminal legal system and have a long-term vision and engage strategies that promote justice within the criminal legal system.

Funding Information

Grants range from $2,000 to $6,000. Groups who have received grants from the Phoebus Criminal Justice Initiative in the past may reapply in the following grant cycle.

Eligibility Criteria

The Phoebus Criminal Justice Initiative makes grants to community groups that:

• Meet all of Bread & Roses basic funding criteria:
  • Organizations must meet all of the following basic requirements to be eligible for a grant from Bread & Roses:
    • Must be located in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Camden counties
    • Must be designated by the IRS as a 501(c)3 organization or have a fiscal sponsor that is designated by the IRS as a 501(c)3 organization or have documentation of a pending 501(c)3 application with the IRS
    • Must be current with all progress reports from previously awarded Bread & Roses grants
    • Must submit a complete application prior to the deadline (because of the volume of applications we receive, we cannot make exceptions)
    • Must be using community organizing to create sustainable social change
  • Bread & Roses makes grants to organizations that have a long-term vision for social justice and engage in strategies that promote sustainable social change, including:
    • A focus on community organizing and activism (not social service, self-help, or educational programs)
    • A clear understanding of the root causes of the problem or issue that they are working to resolve
    • A vision that emphasizes changing the systems that create or perpetuate the problem or issue being addressed
    • A strategy that includes building a local base for taking collective action by the community affected by the problem or issue and results in concrete outcomes at the neighborhood, city, state or national level
    • Leadership that is primarily composed of people most affected by the problem or issue that is being addressed
• Have a long-term vision and engage strategies that promote justice within the criminal legal system
• Are led by people most affected by injustice, and build broad membership and leadership bases that can survive when key leaders step down
• Understand power differences based on identity and can talk about how they are trying to challenge those power imbalances both within their organizations and in their communities
• Have a shared vision for what that change looks like and can articulate that vision
• Prioritize ongoing education/consciousness raising for constituents and allies that broadens their membership base
• Have a plan, including short term and long term goals that are specific, achievable, and relevant to criminal justice
• Are knowledgeable about other organizations working on the same issue, and are able to work in coalition across movements, issues, and communities to amplify impact
• Are less likely to be funded by more traditional funders, because of their commitment to challenging power and prioritizing the leadership of marginalized people. Therefore, a grant from Bread & Roses Community Fund is critical to seeding or sustaining their work
• are building a base for taking collective action against injustices within the criminal legal system and have a long-term vision and engage strategies that promote justice within the criminal legal system.

For more information, visit Bread & Roses Community Fund.