Reforming Civil and Criminal Justice Systems
Where We Work
We work in the United States and China to address shortcomings in justice systems.
What We Fund
In the United States, we support efforts to reform the adult criminal justice system with a focus on challenging harsh punishment, overreliance on detention and incarceration, and combating racial bias in the system.
Our justice reform grants support:
- Legal advocacy and policy advocacy organizations that focus on systemic justice reforms
- Applied research to identify and analyze problematic systemic policies and practices, and to develop and evaluate best practices
- Justice-related membership organizations and training centers that focus on building the will and skill to create fairer and more just criminal systems; study and promote best practices; and conduct the skills training needed to implement best practices
- Training and leadership development to build a cadre of visionary justice practitioners and increase advocacy skills among policy and legal advocates
- Communications efforts that will help reframe the criminal justice debate by helping to gain public and policymaker support for a more fair and just system
- Network building and convenings that help foster collaborations among justice-related membership organizations, think tanks and academic centers; that builds partnerships with unusual allies promoting reform; and that leverage reform dollars
In China, we work with organizations that are helping to achieve equal protection under the law for disadvantaged groups and to improve the practices and functioning of justice systems.
We make grants specifically for:
- Public interest law education and organizations
- Growth of private legal aid
- Research and pilot-project methodology that helps reformers make evidence-based arguments to promote reform
To Apply for a Grant
Follow these steps:
- Review the Initiative(s) most relevant to your work.
- Read our Grant Application Guide, which describes our grant-making process.
- If you determine that your work aligns with our priorities, submit a Grant Inquiry. (While we welcome submissions, please keep in mind that our funds are limited in relation to the large number of worthwhile inquiries we receive. In a typical year, less than 1 percent of unsolicited inquiries result in a grant.)
Please Note:
It is important that you use our grant inquiry form—and refrain from contacting program officers directly. Given the volume of inquiries we receive, this allows us to log, track and respond quickly to your application.
Fellowships
The vast majority of foundation grants go to organizations. We provide a very limited number of fellowship opportunities for individuals through the Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships Program, which aims to diversify the faculties of American colleges and universities.
The foundation does not have any other active fellowship opportunities at this time.
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