LJF Legislative Advocacy Small Grants--Invitation Only

LOUISIANA JUSTICE FUND

CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM REFORM LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY SMALL GRANTS

Louisiana Spring 2026 Legislative Session 

About Foundation for Louisiana 

Foundation for Louisiana (FFL) is a social justice philanthropic intermediary founded in 2005 as the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation to invest in the immediate recovery of Louisiana’s communities after Hurricane Katrina. Founded after Hurricane Katrina, FFL’s founders recognized the need to confront the longstanding inequities that have shaped life outcomes for Louisiana’s most marginalized people. Our programs grew in response to these needs, and today FFL focuses on racial justice, climate justice, criminal justice reform, economic opportunity, LGBTQ organizing, and support for Louisiana's vibrant arts and culture via a three-pronged strategy: 

  • Invest: FFL makes grants and loans to support organizations and movements throughout Louisiana in our key program areas. We attract and invest resources to support on-the-ground projects, many of which can’t access traditional philanthropy. Through fiscal sponsorship, we support innovative ideas responding to unmet needs throughout Louisiana.
  • Build: We build power to effect change in Louisiana communities. Our TOGETHER initiative convenes community leaders and provides training in organizing, policy change, leadership, public speaking, and facilitation to tackle climate change, police accountability, health disparities, housing access, and more.
  • Transform: By fortifying movements, we shift systems and shape regional and national narratives. We reimagine how our communities are governed and funded to redefine how residents can thrive in them.

Since its inception, FFL has invested $60 million in more than 260 mission-critical nonprofit organizations working across the state towards building a more just Louisiana. As a social justice philanthropic intermediary, FFL’s work unapologetically advances racial justice while moving Louisiana forward. The foundation engages communities in program co-design and the grant-making process to expand opportunities and move communities towards a more just future. 

Overview of the Opportunity

The Louisiana Justice Fund (LJF) is a pooled fund housed at FFL that supports projects that reduce incarceration, improve reentry outcomes, and remove barriers to economic mobility for individuals disproportionately affected by the criminal legal system. The Fund strategically invests resources to drive meaningful and lasting change. LJF values collaboration, capacity building, and strategic advocacy in its efforts to bring about  lasting change in Louisiana's criminal legal landscape. LJF aims to achieve this through strategic investments in north Louisiana, central Louisiana, southwest Louisiana, Greater New Orleans, and Greater Baton Rouge areas through three grantmaking goals: 1) strengthen the ecosystem of criminal legal system reform organizations, 2) invest in organizations to shift narratives on safety, crime, and accountability, and 3) increase economic mobility for criminal legal system impacted folks.

LJF invites select nonprofit organizations to apply for small grants to support legislative advocacy advancing criminal legal system reform during the 2026 Louisiana legislative session. This invitation-only opportunity is designed to strengthen timely, strategic advocacy that advances safety, justice, racial equity, and community well-being.

Funding will support 501(c)(3)-permissible advocacy activities that influence policy, funding, and public narratives related to the criminal legal system in Louisiana.

Eligibility

Organizations must:

  • Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or have a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor
  • Engage in nonpartisan advocacy compliant with federal guidelines
  • Demonstrate alignment with criminal legal system reform in Louisiana
  • Have the capacity to execute advocacy strategies during the legislative session 

Purpose 

This initiative seeks to resource organizations working to transform Louisiana’s criminal legal system by advancing policies, practices, and investments that:

1. Create Safer Communities by Shifting Criminal Legal Policies, Practices, and Funding

  • Reduce over-incarceration
  • Advance alternatives to incarceration
  • Prioritize prevention, restoration, and community-based safety strategies

2. Build an Enabling Environment for Criminal Legal System Reform

  • Strengthen the capacity of nonprofit partners to engage in effective advocacy
  • Shift dominant narratives on safety, crime, and accountability toward prevention, racial equity, and restoration
  • Counter misinformation and harmful narratives that undermine reform

3. Increase Economic Mobility for People Impacted by the Criminal Legal System

  • Expand access to employment and economic opportunity for people with arrest and conviction histories
  • Reduce barriers that contribute to recidivism
  • Support reentry pathways that strengthen families and communities

Recommended Legislative Focus Areas (not limited to):  While applicants may pursue a range of advocacy strategies, proposals may align with current Louisiana legislative priorities and emerging issues such as:

  • Sentencing reform and reduction of excessive penalties
  • Parole, probation, and supervision reform
  • Pretrial justice and bail reform
  • Expansion of alternatives to incarceration and diversion programs
  • Reentry supports, including housing, workforce access, and occupational licensing reform
  • Reduction of fines, fees, and financial burdens tied to system involvement
  • Data transparency and reporting on incarceration, arrests, and outcomes
  • Protection of prior criminal justice reform gains from rollback efforts

Funding Priorities

We are particularly interested in supporting organizations that:

  • Advance criminal legal system reform policies at the state and local level during the legislative session
  • Engage in both proactive and defensive advocacy, including protecting prior reforms from rollback
  • Promote decarceration, sentencing reform, and alternatives to incarceration
  • Advance reentry, workforce access, and barrier reduction for impacted individuals
  • Implement strategic communications and narrative change efforts to shift public understanding of safety and justice
  • Use data, research, and lived experience to inform advocacy efforts

Recommended Issue Areas for Advocacy (not limited to):  Strong applications may include, but are not limited to, efforts addressing:

  • Limiting incarceration for nonviolent offenses and expanding earned release opportunities
  • Improving conditions and oversight within jails and prisons
  • Removing statutory and administrative barriers to employment for people with records
  • Expanding access to behavioral health and community-based services as alternatives to incarceration
  • Strengthening data systems to better track outcomes and disparities within the criminal legal system
  • Advancing policies that reduce racial disparities and promote fairness in sentencing and enforcement

Expected Outcomes

Funded efforts are expected to contribute to measurable progress in criminal legal system reform, including:

1. Advocacy Capacity & Policy Defense

  • Increased capacity of criminal justice-focused nonprofits to engage in effective legislative advocacy, including both proactive and defensive strategies
  • Strengthened ability to defend and protect past criminal justice reform wins

2. Policy Impact

  • Advancement of criminal legal system reforms resulting in:               
    • Cost savings through reduced incarceration and system efficiencies
    • Positive impact on individuals returning home from incarceration
    • Incarceration years reduced

     

3. Narrative Change

  • Increased number of policy champions, including voices from less traditional sectors
  • Greater visibility of advocacy successes to counter false or harmful narratives about crime and safety

4. Economic Mobility & Reentry

  • Elimination or reduction of barriers to employment for at least 25,000 individuals with arrest or conviction histories
  • Increased availability of reentry services and supports

5. Data & Systems Change

  • Improved access to accurate, actionable data on individuals impacted by the criminal legal system
  • Stronger use of data to inform policy decisions and public discourse 

Allowable Activities

Funding may support:

  • Legislative advocacy (within 501(c)(3) limits) on criminal justice policy
  • Policy research, analysis, and bill tracking
  • Strategic communications and narrative change campaigns
  • Community education and public awareness efforts on criminal justice issues
  • Rapid response advocacy tied to legislative developments

Grant Amounts

Grant amounts will range from $10,000 to $30,000, depending on the scope, scale, and intensity of proposed advocacy efforts. We anticipate making multiple awards to support a range of advocacy strategies during the legislative session.

Funding will support activities conducted during the current Louisiana legislative session, with timelines aligned to session milestones and rapid-response advocacy needs.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and evaluated based on:

  • Alignment with criminal legal system reform goals
  • Strength, clarity, and timeliness of advocacy strategy
  • Potential for measurable policy impact
  • Organizational capacity
  • Contribution to racial equity, narrative change, and long-term systems transformation

To Apply

We use Submittable to accept and review our submissions.  Please access the application here.

More Information

Resources and support for our online application portal, Submittable, are available here.

For questions about this opportunity, eligibility, or how to prepare your application materials. Email us at ljfsupport@foundationforlouisiana.org.

Want to learn more about how our application has been designed to be inclusive of Louisianans with disabilities?  Learn more here. To discuss accommodations, please contact Jilla Tombar at jtombar@foundationforlouisiana.org or call us at (225)383-1672.  Please refrain from emailing or calling this number except to discuss accommodations.

Foundation for Louisiana follows an equal opportunity employment policy, hiring personnel without regard to race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, criminal legal background, or marital status.

This policy also applies to internal promotions, training, opportunities for advancement, terminations, outside vendors, members and customers, service clients, use of contractors and consultants, grantees, board members, and dealings with the general public. 

For more information about Foundation for Louisiana, visit our website at www.foundationforlouisiana.org

 

We use Submittable to accept and review our submissions.
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