Borealis Philanthropy Announces Communities Transforming Policing FundBorealis Philanthropy is excited to announce the launch of the Communities Transforming Policing Fund (CTPF). The CTPF is a collaborative effort of the Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, and the Public Welfare Foundation. The mission of the CTPF is to support promising police reform advocacy in local jurisdictions in the United States.
The CTPF was created in consultation with over 50 police reform advocates engaged in efforts to ensure law enforcement practices do not disproportionality target communities of color, LGBTQ people, people who are homeless, people with mental illness, and other vulnerable community members.
The CTPF will build and strengthen the capacity of organizations to transform the way law enforcement agencies engage with local communities. The Fund will provide grants, technical assistance, organizational capacity-building, networking and leadership development opportunities to its grantees. In doing so, the Fund will bolster grassroots organizing efforts to eliminate biased-based and discriminatory policing and ensure law enforcement is transparent and accountable to the communities they serve.
“The Open Society Foundations values the partnership with the Ford Foundation and the Public Welfare Foundation to support advocates at the cutting edge of police reform,” said Jennifer Shaw, program officer with the Justice team of OSF’s U.S. Programs. “We hope this fund can contribute to building and strengthening a network of local activists who understand how policing works, and can help educate their communities on how best to encourage police departments to adopt policies and practices that protect all people. By housing the Communities Transforming Policing Fund at Borealis Philanthropy—a philanthropic intermediary that emphasizes a ‘high touch’ relationship with grantees—we can ensure critical resources and technical support reach organizations who are meaningfully engaging communities in police accountability efforts.”
The first round of CTPF grantmaking includes eight local and state-based organizations and coalitions. The CTPF’s grantees are undertaking diverse public safety issues and strategies, including efforts to ban racial profiling, address entrenched policing problems through grassroots organizing, and shore up independent police monitors or civilian complaint review boards.
Collectively, these organizations will receive over $1 million in project support and over $60,000 in organizational development support. For more information on the work of the CTPF’s inaugural grant recipients, please follow the links below:
“Unite Oregon is honored to be among the first grantees of the Communities Transforming Policing Fund,” said Kayse Jama, Executive Director of Unite Oregon. “The Fund’s support will allow us to continue mobilizing community members, hosting public forums, conducting trainings, and more to advance our campaign to end racial profiling in our state.”
The CTPF provides resources in two general areas: project support grants to further specific police accountability initiatives and organizational development grants to strengthen infrastructure.
“The Communities Transforming Policing Fund’s support comes at a critical time as police-involved shootings and the need for police accountability and transparency in Phoenix are at an all-time high,” said Viri Hernandez, Executive Director of the Center for Neighborhood Leadership. “These resources will help ensure we have the organizational infrastructure necessary to advance Freedom Phx, our new police reform campaign led by women, people of color, young people, and migrants.”
The CTPF is managed by Borealis Philanthropy, a philanthropic intermediary that helps funders expand their reach and impact. “We are excited to collaborate with the Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, and the Public Welfare Foundation to launch the Communities Transforming Policing Fund,” said Magui Rubalcava, President and founder of Borealis Philanthropy. “As the home of this important grantmaking initiative, Borealis will be responsive to the needs of our grantees and funders with the ultimate goal of transforming policing by supporting community-led efforts for change.”
For more information on the CTPF, please visit the Fund’s page on the Borealis Philanthropy website. For additional updates and announcements about the CTPF and other Borealis grantmaking initiatives, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.