The D.C.-based Public Welfare Foundation has announced grants totaling $3.5 million to seven justice reform organizations to strengthen their operating and program infrastructure and an additional grant of $500,000 for justice reform advocacy and coalition building in Georgia.

Seven organizations will receive a one-time True Reformer grant of $500,000 over two years to enhance staffing, technology, strategic planning, and operating reserves for the foundation’s key justice reform partners. As part of the foundation’s 75th anniversary, grants were awarded to Denver-based Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition; Michigan Center for Youth Justice (MCYJ) in Ann Arbor; Operation Restoration in New Orleans; People’s Advocacy Institute in Jackson, Mississippi; the African American Roundtable in Milwaukee; Voices for a Second Chance in Washington, D.C.; and Women on the Rise in Atlanta. In addition, the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta was awarded $500,000 over two years in support of statewide policy advocacy and to strengthen the coalition of organizations advancing justice reforms in Georgia.

“This gift…will help MCYJ build and strengthen our organizational capacities to achieve our policy reform goals,” said MCYJ executive director Jason Smith. “[The grant will]…support us as we move toward intentionally centering the voices of youth and families who have been directly impacted by the justice system in all aspects of our work.”

“Each of Public Welfare’s True Reformer grant recipients demonstrates courageous leadership in advancing justice that’s just,” said foundation president and CEO Candice C. Jones. “They are paving the way for a new, transformative approach to justice that is community-led, restorative, and racially just. They deserve not just our praise, but our investment to ensure that they can continue to advance this work in the years to come.”