AMENDMENT PROJECT
PROPOSAL INFORMATION
Organization Name: Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP)
Organization Website: https://www.vadp.org/
Tax Status: 501(c)(3)
Grant Type (General or Project Support): General Support
Grant Period: January 1, 2020 — December 31, 2020
Number of Months: 12
Beginning: January 1, 2020
Amount Requested: $15,000
Organization Budget: $147,718
Project Budget (if applicable):
Percentage of Budget Grant Would Cover: 10.2%
Which strategic area(s) have you been invited to apply for? (Please check all that apply.)
[¥] 1. Reduce ‘ions/: (ad y or litigati
[ ]2. Repeal (advocacy or litigation)
[ ]3. Communications and/or unusual voices
Prior Grants from Funder Collaborative*:
2018: $40,000
2019: $0
8AP Funding Recommendation (Leave Blank): $
Grant Purpose
(In one line, state how funding to your organization will assist the national strategy.)
VADP will continue its work to (1) pass legislation to exempt people with severe mental
illness from the death penalty and (2) build more conservative support for abolition.
Background & Context
(In one paragraph, give us an update as to where the state is on the use of the death penalty and the prospects for
change. In two paragraphs, tell us the three or four biggest accomplishments of the organization over the last year.)
VIRGINIA UPDATE
Virginia is poised to become the first southern state to abolish the death penalty. No
one has been sentenced to death in Virginia since September 2011, nearly eight years
ago. There are only two men on death row and both of their death sentences are
being reconsidered by order of the Fourth Circuit Court. If two more Democrats are
elected to the House of Delegates in November 2019, the primary obstacle to abolition
in that chamber — Del. Rob Bell — will be removed from his leadership role as chair of
the Courts of Justice Committee. Our current Governor, Ralph Northam, has said that
he would sign an abolition bill if it reached his desk. His term ends in December 2021.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE PAST YEAR
In January 2019 the state Senate passed a bill to exempt people with severe mental
illness (SMI) from the death penalty on a bipartisan 23-17 floor vote. This was the first
time that either chamber of the Virginia General Assembly had ever voted to limit
capital punishment in any way. The work of VADP Field Director Dale Brumfield
building Republican and Libertarian support for this legislation was key to changing the
votes of two Republican Senators and one Democratic Senator on this issue.
The Field Director carried out public education work among local religious, civic, and
business leaders in key legislative districts in rural, small town, and suburban Virginia
(including Abingdon, Moneta, Lynchburg, Chatham, Chesterfield, Fredericksburg,
Rockingham, Springfield, and Fairfax). He had a VADP display table at the 2018 and
2019 conventions of the Virginia Federation of Republican Women and spoken to five
local Republican women’s clubs on the death penalty. He has gotten over 200 people
to join VADP in the past two years, including many Republicans and Libertarians.
Organizational Information
(In one paragraph, give a brief history of how the organization was started and the role it has played in the
death penalty abolition movement over the years. Provide one-paragraph bios of at least two key leaders who
will oversee this work.)
On November 9, 1991, a steering committee of 13 committed citizens gathered and formed
Virginians Against State Killing. In 1994 the organization’s name was changed to Virginians
for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP). In its early years VADP was an “outsider”
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group, focused on protest against the frequent use of capital punishment. Then board
chair Jon Sheldon led a process that transformed VADP into an “insider” organization with
a more professional structure and expertise that has earned bipartisan credibility with the
media, legislators, and administration officials. In recent years VADP has led a coalition of
key organizations — including the Virginia Catholic Conference, ACLU of Virginia, NAMI
Virginia, and other mental health groups — in a campaign to pass legislation to exempt
people with severe mental illness from the death penalty.
Prior to becoming VADP Executive Director, Michael Stone worked for 25 years in social
ministry for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond from 1984 to 2009. He also worked four
years as a Field Organizer and consultant for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty. In that role, he worked with abolition groups in Virginia and other states. Since
joining VADP in January 2015, he has worked to expand its funding base and to identify
opponents to the death penalty among conservatives and victim family members.
Dale Brumfield brings a varied background as a commercial insurance salesman, educator,
and writer to his position as VADP Field Director. A Virginia native, Dale has written nine
books, including The Virginia State Penitentiary: A Notorious History. He has authored
numerous anti-death penalty pieces for the Richmond Times- Dispatch, North of the James
magazine, Richmond Magazine, the Rappahannock Review and the conservative political
website BearingDrift.com. Since joining VADP in May 2017, Dale has focused on public
education among conservatives in key legislative districts across the Commonwealth.
Proposal
(In no more than three paragraphs, state the goals of the work that will be achieved over the next year. (i.e. We
will reduce death sentences in the state by providing litigation assistance to trial attorneys; we will build support
for legislative repeal by leading a broad- based public education campaign in key areas of the state; we will lift
unusual voices in the media calling for change.) If applicable, please explicitly name the partners with whom
you will be working to achieve your stated goal and the geographical focus of your work. This should be as brief
as possible since you will be asked to give more detail in the Benchmarks/Outcomes section below.)
VADP will continue to build conservative grassroots support for death penalty reform and
abolition through public education with local religious, civic, and business leaders in key
legislative districts — including Chesterfield County, Virginia Beach, Fairfax County, and
Prince William County. The VADP Field Director has scheduled education sessions in the
fall with Virginia Beach Republicans, NoVA Libertarians, Warren County Democrats, and
the Virginia Community Criminal Justice Association (VCCJA) 2019 conference. He is
reaching out to many other organizations in those target areas for speaking engagements.
VADP will launch a death penalty abolition media campaign after the November 2019
election that focuses on key constituent groups — including conservatives, murder victim
family members, exonerees, and faith leaders. VADP is collecting endorsements of sign-
on letters that focus on these four groups. Conservatives Concerned About the Death
Penalty is helping us with the conservative letter. Faith in Public Life and the Virginia
Council of Churches is distributing our faith leader letter. The Mid-Atlantic Innocence
Project is working with us on the exoneree letter.
VADP will work to limit the death penalty in the 2020 Virginia legislative session with the
Virginia Catholic Conference and the ACLU of Virginia. For the first time in over a decade,
VADP and its two key partners will work with legislators on bills in both chambers to
abolish the death penalty. If control of the House of Delegates changes in November
2019, there is a reasonable chance that we can pass these bills out of committee and have
a serious floor debate on the merits of capital punishment. In the event that this abolition
effort fails, VADP will again seek enactment of a bill to exempt people with severe mental
illness from the death penalty along with NAMI Virginia, Mental Health American of
Virginia, and other state mental health organizations.
Racial Justice Alignment
(In no more than one paragraph, please explain how your work advances racial justice, and what efforts you
are making to empower leaders of color and/or impacted persons to become leaders in your campaign.)
VADP continues to work with the Legislative Black Caucus on public policy strategy to limit
capital punishment in Virginia. But it has been a challenge for VADP to find a credible
public education partner in the wider community given the organizational disarray of
traditional racial justice groups like the Virginia NAACP and the Baptist General
Convention of Virginia. Repeated attempts to work with the Virginia Alliance Against Mass
Incarceration were rebuffed. However, VADP has been invited to share its legislative
agenda at the annual Martin Luther King Day of Advocacy at the Virginia State Capitol for
the past three years. VADP is also in the early stages of a discussion with the new African-
American General Minister of the Virginia Council of Churches about a joint public
education effort in black churches around the death penalty and criminal justice reform.
In September an African-American attorney, Kristina Leslie, will become the first person of
color to chair the VADP board _ of directors.
Funding & Expenses
(Please briefly describe the other sources of income listed in your budget, including grants, major donors and
other fundraising efforts. Give a brief outline of fundraising effort going forward (no more than three sentences.)
In 2018 VADP raised 67% of its income from individuals, 22% from grants, and 11% from
faith communities. Increases in individual giving over the past few years has been driven
by two postal appeals, an annual report mailing to major donors, “friend-raising” events,
an annual awards luncheon, and one-to-one meetings with major donors. Giving from
faith communities has leveled off in the past two years while identification of potential
new grant sources continues to be a challenge, especially since VADP will no longer be
eligible for grants in 2020 from the Sisters of Bon Secours and the Daughters of Wisdom.
Benchmarks
(What are the specific outcomes that will be achieved by the end of the year? Please list at least three
quantifiable outcomes. Example: We will have assisted in 30 pretrial cases, or we will have conducted 20 public
education events, or we will have placed 20 voices in the media highlighting problems with the death penalty.)
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Field Director has individual meetings with at least ten civic, faith, and business leaders in
each of the four target legislative districts - Chesterfield County, Virginia Beach, Fairfax
County, & Prince William County.
Field Director gives at least two public education events in each of four target legislative
districts — Chesterfield County, Virginia Beach, Fairfax County, & Prince William County.
VADP has at least three media exposures — press release, press conference, and/or op-eds —
on (1) execution history by locality and (2) signatories on abolition sign-on letters from
conservatives, murder victim family members, exonerees, or faith leaders between the
November 2019 election and start of the General Assembly in mid-January 2020.
Confirm a Republican co-patron for the death penalty abolition bill in the House of
Delegates and state Senate by December 2019.
Have a floor debate and vote in at least one legislative chamber on the SMI exemption bill
and/or death penalty abolition bill during the 2020 General Assembly session.
Convene at least 70 people at our October 5th annual awards luncheon featuring keynote
speaker Renny Cushing from New Hampshire and honoring our legislator of the year (Sen.
Barbara Favola) & citizen advocate of the year (Tom Petersik of Chesterfield County).
Raise at least $60,000 before end of the 2019 calendar year to ensure that there will be no
VADP staffing cuts in the 2020 fiscal year. A $15,000 DPMF grant would almost certainly
ensure that we will reach this goal.
Rationale for Recommendation
(This section for 8AP use only; please leave blank.)
*The Funder Ci i y ii The Fund for Nonviolence (FNV), Open Society
F ion (OSF), Tides F i i jing the A Fund), Butler Family Foundation, Libra
Foundation, Wallace Global Fund, and Akonadi F lion. It also previ y ii Atlantic
Philanthropies.
