The Public Welfare Foundation (PWF) in Washington, D.C., has announced that it is adding Tennessee as a new jurisdiction of its grantmaking portfolio, where it will expand its efforts to advance justice and opportunity.

As it does in the other eight jurisdictions, PWF will support efforts to transform approaches to youth and adult criminal justice across Tennessee by fostering and bolstering ecosystems of reform and uplifting community-based work already underway. Since 2018, PWF has anchored its grantmaking approach in jurisdictions it considers ripe for transformation, funding an ecosystem of innovative solutions and investing in the leadership of those closest to the issues surrounding the criminal justice system. The other eight jurisdictions include Colorado; Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; Louisiana; Michigan; Milwaukee; Oklahoma; and Washington, D.C.

According to PWF, Tennessee faces many of the deep systemic issues that are mirrored across the country, such as extreme poverty, underperforming schools, food and housing insecurity, and a broken justice system. But PWF aims to boost a burgeoning local advocacy community it has identified in the state.

“Our new partnership with Public Welfare Foundation is especially encouraging because they recognize the transformative potential of our approach to the problems presented by the criminal legal system,” said Josh Spickler, executive director of Just City, one of PWF’s Tennessee grantees. “We share their belief that meaningful reform and lasting change are possible when advocacy and harm reduction strategies are leveraged for the benefit of entire communities. Public Welfare Foundation’s investment in Tennessee is hopeful news, and we are incredibly grateful for their support.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Jeremy Poland)