Brooklyn Community Bail Fund
/OVERVIEW: The Brooklyn Community Bail Fund supports criminal justice, civil rights, social justice and advocacy in New York.
FUNDING AREAS: Criminal justice, civil rights, social justice, advocacy, immigration
IP TAKE: This niche fund addresses the injustices of bail forcing guilty pleas, determining case outcomes, imprisoning the poor and costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
PROFILE: Established in 2015, the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund (BCBF) is a state-chartered charitable bail fund based in Brooklyn, New York. It offers a radical intervention in a system that discriminates on people based on race, wealth, immigration status and other social factors. The foundation is " committed to challenging the criminalization of race, poverty and immigration status, the practice of putting a price on fundamental rights and the persistent myth that bail is a necessary element of the justice system.” BCBF funds local efforts for criminal justice, civil rights, social justice and advocacy.
The Brooklyn Community Bail Fund uses its funds to pay millions of dollars in bail to secure the freedom of people accused of misdemeanors. It works to prove that bail money is often unjust and unnecessary. BCBF is also involved with immigration, customs enforcement, deportations and raids of non-U.S. citizens in the country. BCBF’s New York Immigration Freedom Fund program has paid millions of dollars in immigration bonds to secure the freedom of hundreds of immigrant New Yorkers from ICE detention so that they can be reunited with their families. The funder regularly partners with community-based organizations and advocates to pursue criminal justice reform in the state. BCBF pursues both national and local work related to these issues.
Grants range between about $10,000 and $100,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records. Grantmaking mostly focuses on New York City and the state of New York; however, some grantees are based in other U.S. states as well. Past local grantees include Voices of Community Activists and Leaders, Media Mobilizing Project and Community Bonds.
This foundation does not typically accept unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits. Direct general questions to the staff at info@brooklynbailfund.org or 347-391-6299.
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