One in three black men can expect to spend time in prison in their lifetime and Hispanic men are almost four times as likely to go to prison at some point in their lives as non-Hispanic white males. To help reduce racial bias in the criminal justice system, Atlantic invested $16.4 million over 5 years to collect data, do research and support organizations well-poised to capitalize on opportune moments to change hearts, minds, and policies.

  1. A lot can be accomplished in a short amount of time when you pool funding resources with other foundations. Pool funding offered a number of advantages in this work: ensured donor coordination, enhanced grantee cooperation and flexibility to rapidly target funds to timely opportunities.
  2. Harness the power of data by commissioning research, using findings to embed the case for reform in a logical argument, packaging data in multiple formats for a variety of uses, and timing the release to coincide with mobilizing events.
  3. A strategic communications component is necessary to ensure messaging and framing is aligned with campaign goals.

Read the full article on criminal justice by at The Atlantic Philanthropies