For Immediate Release
Contact: Regina Sharma, Director of Developmentrsharma@detroitjustice.org
Detroit, MI, March 19, 2024: Today, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced the Detroit Justice Center (DJC) as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. DJC received an award of $2 Million.
While this gift is the biggest awarded to DJC in its nearly 6 years in Detroit, it comes at a time when there has been a significant rollback from 2020’s outpouring of philanthropic support for Black-led organizations fighting against the criminal punishment system. Gifts of this size allow DJC to maintain the work of building more equitable and just cities by creating community land trusts, expanding the work of the Metro Detroit Restorative Justice Network, democratizing access to the law, and defending clients from a system that perpetually seeks to criminalize poverty. DJC believes that this donation signifies a genuine commitment to racial and economic justice as an intergenerational practice and not merely a passing trend.
“We see this donation as an act of wealth reclamation,” said DJC’s Executive Director Nancy A. Parker, “and we will use it to re-distribute wealth stolen from overworked and underemployed Amazon workers and put it towards serving our community, which is disproportionately affected by cycles of incarceration.”
Next month, DJC will celebrate its sixth birthday, and this award serves as recognition that will hopefully encourage others to support the cause of just cities as that anniversary draws nearer. DJC supports itself through individual giving and programs like the Freedom Dreams Sustainers, which was designed to build a greater connection between donors and the organization’s work.
The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause, and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.
“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”
More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.
Detroit Justice Center
The Detroit Justice Center is a non-profit law firm working alongside communities to create economic opportunities, transform the justice system, and promote equitable and just cities.
Yield Giving
Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,500,000,000 to 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com.
Lever for Change
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced over $1.7 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org.