Skip to content

· Public charity

Justice Action Network

The mission of the Corporation is to promote the common good and general welfare of citizens of the United States by advocating in favor of reforms to criminal justice policy that will maximize the effective and fair use of limited public resources in the criminal justice system.

$108k
Granted FY2024still arriving
4
Grants FY2024still arriving
3
States reached
$38k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Crime & Legal$7.3MPublic Benefit$405kCivil Rights$38kCommunity Improvement$10k
02FY2024 · 4 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$25,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$556k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
R Street Institute$37,500
Americans for Tax Reform$25,000
Goldwater Institute$25,000
Libertas Institute$20,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY21–23, $190k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%Empower Missouri: $52k → 10%Life Learning Center: $50k → 11%Empower Missouri: $52k → 10%Empower Missouri: $36k → 10%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

WI
MI
NY
OR
OH
PA
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
VA
MD
AZ
NM
KS
DC
OK
LA
MS
GA
TX
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$6.7M · 20 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against +20% for those funded once.

20 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 16 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

20
17

Total granted

$6.7M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+20%

Still filing today

95%
94%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’20’21’22’23’24
Public BenefitCrime & LegalYouth DevelopmentCivil RightsHealthHuman ServicesOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • FA
    FAMILIES AGAINST MANDATORY MINIMUMS
    5× · 2018–2023 · $875k · revenue +745% · 79% of their budget
  • PF
    PRISON FELLOWSHIP MINISTRIES
    4× · 2020–2023 · $700k · revenue +59%
  • DP
    DUE PROCESS INSTITUTE
    3× · 2021–2023 · $650k · revenue +71% · 68% of their budget

Funded once

  • TL
    THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INC
    2× · 2017–2018 · $399k · revenue -8%
  • KG
    KEEP GEORGIA GREAT INC
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · 44% of their budget
  • TP
    TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATIONgraduated
    2× · 2017–2018 · $81k · revenue +115%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Competitive Enterprise Institute

Competitive enterprise institute (cei) is a non-profit public policy organization dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government. we believe that consumers are best helped not by government regulation but by being…

—
2
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

The american enterprise institute is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity, and strengthening free enterprise. aei pursues these ideals through independent thinking and the…

Social Science
3
Open Markets Institute

The open markets institute works to help people relearn how to use competition policy to build stronger democracies, more just and equitable societies, more innovative and sustainable economies, and a more secure and peaceful world.

Education
4
The Campaign Legal Center Inc

The nonpartisan campaign legal center advances democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every american's rights to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic…

Crime & Legal
5
American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware Inc

The organization monitors legislation that could impact civil liberties and takes the necessary action to support or oppose such legislation.

—
6
Fund for Justice

Fund for Justice is a nationally connected social impact research and advocacy organization that works to achieve fundamental, systemic reform by addressing policies and practicies that prevent individuals from reaching their full…

Crime & Legal
7
American Civil Liberties Union Fund of the District of Columbia

Preservation of civil liberties through litigation and public education.

—
8
Alliance for Justice

Alliance for justice builds the strength of progressive movements by training and educating nonprofit organizations on advocacy, while harnessing their collective power to transform our state and federal courts.

Civil Rights
9
American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska

Preservation and promotion of civil rights and civil liberties.

—
10
Fines and Fees Justice Center Inc

The fines and fees justice center, inc. ("ffjc") is the only national organization focused exclusively on the unjust and harmful fines and fees imposed in the legal system. through education and advocacy, ffjc works to create a justice…

Crime & Legal
11
American Constitution Society for Law & Policy

The american constitution society for law and policy (acs) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan legal organization. through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, advocates, and many others,…

Education
12
Litigators for Liberty Network

Support public interest litigators by leveraging resources and creating opportunities for collaboration to advance freedom under the rule of law.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Texas Public Policy Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Veterans Defense Project. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

39 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
38/39
Grantees still filing
25/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FAMILIES AGAINST MANDATORY MINIMUMS: $875,000 · OtherFAMILIES AGAINST MANDATORY MINIMUMSFREEDOMWORKS INC: $722,405 · OtherFREEDOMWORKS INCThe Buckeye Institute: $485,000 · OtherThe Buckeye InstituteTHE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INC: $398,603 · OtherTHE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INCAmericans for Tax Reform: $300,000 · OtherAmericans for Tax ReformPegasus Institute Inc: $235,000 · OtherPegasus Institute IncEMPOWER MISSOURI: $140,000 · OtherR STREET INSTITUTE: $150,000 · Other+10 more: $530,500 · Other+10 morePRISON FELLOWSHIP MINISTRIES: $700,000 · Crime & LegalPRISON FELLOWSHIP MINISTR…DUE PROCESS INSTITUTE: $650,000 · Crime & LegalDUE PROCESS INSTITUTECOMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES INC: $250,000 · Crime & LegalCOMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES …Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Inc: $125,000 · Crime & LegalKansas Appleseed Center f…CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND: $375,000 · Public BenefitCENTER FOR …Libertas Network: $158,000 · Public BenefitLibertas Ne…TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $80,688 · Public BenefitTEXAS PUBLI…BADGER INSTITUTE INC: $50,000 · Public BenefitBADGER INST…BARRY GOLDWATER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $50,000 · Public BenefitBARRY GOLDW…Rio Grande Foundation Inc: $30,000 · Public Benefit+2 more: $40,000 · Public BenefitFAITH AND FREEDOM COALITION INC: $483,125 · Civil RightsFAITH AND…YOUTH RIGHTS & JUSTICE: $115,000 · Civil RightsYOUTH RIG…NAACP EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS INC: $25,000 · Civil RightsEMPOWER MISSISSIPPI: $290,000 · HealthHEALTHIER COLORADO: $50,000 · HealthDREAMORG: $250,000 · EnvironmentNational District Attorneys Association: $225,000 · Community Improvement
Other$3,836,508Crime & Legal$1,725,000Public Benefit$783,688Civil Rights$623,125Health$340,000Environment$250,000Community Improvement$225,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFAMILIES AGAINST MANDATORY MINIMUMS: $875,000 over 5y, 79% of budgetFREEDOMWORKS INC: $722,405 over 3y, 10% of budgetPRISON FELLOWSHIP MINISTRIES: $700,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetDUE PROCESS INSTITUTE: $650,000 over 3y, 68% of budgetThe Buckeye Institute: $485,000 over 5y, 5.8% of budgetFAITH AND FREEDOM COALITION INC: $483,125 over 6y, 1.0% of budgetTHE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INC: $398,603 over 2y, 16% of budgetCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND: $375,000 over 4y, 2.8% of budgetAmericans for Tax Reform: $300,000 over 6y, 1.4% of budgetEMPOWER MISSISSIPPI: $290,000 over 4y, 18% of budgetDREAMORG: $250,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetCOMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES INC: $250,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetNational District Attorneys Association: $225,000 over 3y, 2.2% of budgetLibertas Network: $158,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetR STREET INSTITUTE: $150,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetEMPOWER MISSOURI: $140,000 over 3y, 8.6% of budgetKansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Inc: $125,000 over 3y, 5.8% of budgetYOUTH RIGHTS & JUSTICE: $115,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetPELICAN ACTION INC: $115,000 over 4y, 14% of budgetKEEP GEORGIA GREAT INC: $100,000 over 1y, 44% of budgetTEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION: $80,688 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetOKLAHOMA COUNCIL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS INC: $80,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetLife Learning Center Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetWANDA JOYCE ROBINSON FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 28% of budgetHEALTHIER COLORADO: $50,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetBADGER INSTITUTE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetBARRY GOLDWATER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH: $50,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC: $37,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRio Grande Foundation Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetTEXAS CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND EQUITY: $28,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetNAACP EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetREBUILD THE DREAM: $25,000 over 2y, 8.2% of budgetPENNSYLVANIA CHAMBER OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetNATIONAL FOSTER YOUTH INSTITUTE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Coalition for Public SafetyDC34.8× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Coalition for Public Safety · Justice Action Network Foundation · Charles Koch Foundation · The Roe Foundation · State Policy Network · Charles Koch Institute · Donors Trust Inc · The Just Trust for Action · Clean Slate Initiative Inc · Adolph Coors Foundation · New Venture Fund · Tides Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Justice Action Network funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Justice Action Network. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 81%
  • Youth Rights & Justice: 81% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
4report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Justice Action Network?

Find your warmest path to Justice Action Network through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 37 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2025) is on record and reports no grant expense, so the figures above are from FY2024, the most recent year this funder made grants.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Justice Action Network’s filings →

More from the funding graph