The Michelson 20MM Foundation is committed to helping individuals and communities impacted by the criminal justice system forge brighter, more prosperous futures via educational attainment. In keeping with this pledge, we’re launching the 2024 Michelson Spark Grants Smart Justice funding cycle, which will award grants up to $25,000 to nonprofits at the intersection of higher education and criminal justice reform. As a study by the RAND Corporation has shown, “$1 spent on adult education in prison results in a $5 reduction in reincarceration costs in the first 3 years after release.” Investments in the Smart Justice space benefit systems-impacted individuals, their communities, and society as a whole.
The Smart Justice funding cycle will run from September 3, 2024 to September 17, 2024, with an informational webinar on August 22nd at 10:00am PST.
Funding Cycle Details
The Spark Grant Program provides innovative, just-in-time grants that fill urgent needs for higher education organizations who are well-aligned with our focus areas. Grants are available to United States–based nonprofits. For this round of funding, we are honing our impact on organizations that are doing work in California. Organizations whose work does not impact California will be ineligible for this opportunity.
Please note the funding cycle seeks to fund projects that support systems-level strategies, with potential to create positive impact at scale. We will award grants up to $25K in support of initiatives that address our focus areas: 20mm.org/spark-grants
On August 22nd, members of the grant committee hosted an informational webinar, which provided an in-depth overview of the Spark Grants program, highlighted past awardees, and addressed questions from attendees.
