Overview of the Opportunity

The Louisiana Justice Fund (LJF) is a pooled fund housed at FFL that supports projects aimed at reducing incarceration rates, improving reentry outcomes, and dismantling barriers to economic mobility, particularly for individuals disproportionately represented in the criminal legal system. The Fund focuses on deploying resources strategically to drive change and create lasting impact. 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.

The Louisiana Justice Fund’s (LJF) Coalition and Collaborative Advocacy Power grant supports Louisiana-based coalitions and organizations defending criminal legal system reforms and advancing policy and advocacy efforts to reduce incarceration rates, improve reentry outcomes, and eliminate barriers to economic mobility for criminal legal system impacted folks.

What the Grant Supports

1. Coalitions advancing systemic or structural criminal legal system reforms through strategic collaboration. Funded activities may include convening and strengthening multi-organization coalitions, developing shared policy agendas, mobilizing community voices and the voices of those with lived experience, and engaging in legislative or administrative advocacy. Priority will be given to initiatives that reduce incarceration, enhance reentry supports, and expand equitable access to economic opportunity for system-impacted folks and their families.
2. Organizations working to advance reforms within the criminal legal system through collaborative advocacy. Eligible strategies include joint policy campaigns, coordinated public education and narrative change efforts, shared research and data analysis, cross-sector partnerships that build community power and others. Grants support initiatives that reduce incarceration rates, improve reentry outcomes, and eliminate barriers to economic mobility for individuals impacted by the criminal legal system.

We fund, lead, convene, and collaborate to build on the existing power in our communities and address the greatest and most critical needs facing Louisiana. FFL uses this common grant application form for all applications, with supplemental materials requested as needed.  Applicants should gather all required documentation prior to starting the online application.

Electronic Submissions:

• To submit an application, you will need to create a Submittable account. All you need is an email and password to create your account. It's that simple. For further instructions, visit the following help center article How to submit.
• Supported internet browsers include: Google Chrome, Apple Safari, & Mozilla Firefox.
• If you have any technical issues, please contact Submittable through the following link: Submittable technical support 

Overview of Opportunity

The Louisiana Justice Fund (LJF) is a pooled fund housed at FFL that supports projects aimed at reducing incarceration rates, improving reentry outcomes, and dismantling barriers to economic mobility, particularly for individuals disparately represented in the criminal legal system. The Fund focuses on deploying resources strategically to drive change and create lasting impact. LJF also 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.

The LJF Reentry & Economic Mobility grant supports Louisiana-based organizations conducting workforce advocacy and providing reentry services with a systems analysis that addresses economic mobility, workforce development, expanded and coordinated services for formerly-incarcerated persons (FIPs) and families of system-involved folks.

What the Grant Supports

Louisiana-based organizations implementing programs or initiatives that aim to improve employment opportunities for FIPs through direct services with an ecological systems analysis of the criminal justice system in Louisiana, policy advocacy, or integrated advocacy with direct services.

Examples of the type of work this grant will support include but are not limited to: 

• “clean slate” legislative advocacy and connecting that work to the national movement;
• removing barriers to vocations and fixing the gaps in reentry services that create unnecessary barriers to living-wage employment (e.g., occupational licensure);
• strategies to ensure implementation of existing policies and laws facilitating access to employment, housing, voting, healthcare, etc. for formerly incarcerated persons; 
• policy advocacy to improve employment opportunities and economic mobility for FIPs integrated with direct services); 
• services/programs/policy advocacy to mitigate the economic burden on families of detained or incarcerated folks.

Electronic Submissions:

• To submit an application, you will need to create a Submittable account. All you need is an email and password to create your account. It's that simple. For further instructions, visit the following help center article How to submit.
• Supported internet browsers include: Google Chrome, Apple Safari, & Mozilla Firefox.
• If you have any technical issues, please contact Submittable through the following link: Submittable technical support

Overview of the Opportunity

The Louisiana Justice Fund (LJF) is a pooled fund housed at FFL that supports projects aimed at reducing incarceration rates, improving reentry outcomes, and dismantling barriers to economic mobility, particularly for individuals disproportionately represented in the criminal legal system. The Fund focuses on deploying resources strategically to drive change and create lasting impact. 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.

The Louisiana Justice Fund’s (LJF) Narrative Change grants support development and dissemination of counternarratives to criminality of youth, communities of color, immigrants, unhoused and poor people in Louisiana as well defensive and affirmative communications and narrative strategies that shift narratives on safety, crime, and accountability prioritizing prevention, equity, and restoration and contributing to an enabling environment for legal policy and social change.

What the Grant Supports

Examples of the type of work LJF will support include but are not limited to: 

• counternarrative and message development;
• polling, public opinion research, spokesperson development, story-gathering and collateral (marketing and promo materials) development; 
• coordinated message deployment and use; 
• dissemination and amplification of counternarratives and messages (earned media, digital campaigns, owned media, and social medial); and
• training and technical assistance to strengthen the overall communications capacity and skill sets of the ecosystem. 

We fund, lead, convene, and collaborate to build on the existing power in our communities and address the greatest and most critical needs facing Louisiana. FFL uses this common grant application form for all applications, with supplemental materials requested as needed.  Applicants should gather all required documentation prior to starting the online application.

Electronic Submissions:

• To submit an application, you will need to create a Submittable account. All you need is an email and password to create your account. It's that simple. For further instructions, visit the following help center article How to submit.
• Supported internet browsers include: Google Chrome, Apple Safari, & Mozilla Firefox.
• If you have any technical issues, please contact Submittable through the following link: Submittable technical support