Shepherd’s Gate Grant Application
2019
Goop SHEPHERD CATHOLIC CHURCH
Loving as Christ loves, serving as Christ serves.
ernon Hwy Alexandria, VA 22309 703-780-4055 email: office@gs-cc.org
PROGRAM APPLICATION
ORGANIZATION/AGENCY INFORMATION
Sponsoring Organization(s): Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP)
Address: P.O. Box 12222, Richmond, VA 23241
Name of Contact Person: Michael E. Stone
Position: Executive Director
Phone: (434) 960-7779 Email: office@vadp.org
PROJECT/PROGRAM INFORMATION
It is highly recommended that each organization elect a project/program to fund rather than
apply for a grant to be applied to their general operating expenses.
Project/Program Title: Grassroots Education Project
Total budget for the project/program: $152,496 (2019 calendar year)
Total funds requested from the Shepherd’s Gate Grant Program: $3,000
REFERENCES
List individuals or organizations that are not part of your organization but are familiar with
your organization’s work:
1) Name: Jeff Caruso Phone: (804) 225-8565
Position/Organization: Executive Director, Virginia Catholic Conference
2) Name: Fr. Bob Cilinski Phone: (703) 455-2400
Position/Organization: Pastor, Church of the Nativity in Burke
OTHER
How did your organization learn of the Shepherd’s Gate Grant program?
I met Susan Grunder, Director of Social Ministry at Good Shepherd, at a meeting several
years ago in Arlington sponsored by the Virginia Catholic Conference. I asked her about
parish funding for VADP, and she told me about the Shepherd’s Gate grant program.
Has this grant proposal and the project/program been approved by the organization’s
Executive Director, President, or Board of Trustees?
NoO Yes
If yes, Approved by: Michael Stone, VADP Executive Director Date: April 4, 2019
NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION
Please provide a write up with the following information and categories listed below. Limit
answers to 4 typed pages using 12 pt font, Times New Roman
1. Overview: Describe the principal goal and objectives of this project/program
Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP) is a statewide citizens’
organization dedicated to educating the public about alternatives to the death penalty.
Its mission is to “end the death penalty in Virginia through education, organizing,
and advocacy.”
VADP and its key partner organizations — the Virginia Catholic Conference and
ACLU of Virginia — have introduced 1-2 death penalty reform bills each year in the
General Assembly that were recommended by a 2013 American Bar Association panel.
While adoption of these reforms would be significant steps forward, the true goal is to
educate legislators about flaws within Virginia’s death penalty system and to sow
doubt about the legitimacy of capital punishment.
In the past four sessions of the Virginia General Assembly, VADP and its partner
organizations supported a bill that would ban the execution of offenders who suffer
from a severe mental illness. The patrons of this measure in the House of Delegates
and the Senate have been effective in building bipartisan support for the bill.
In January, the state Senate passed this proposed legislation on a 23-17 bipartisan vote.
Unfortunately, the bill failed in a House Courts of Justice Subcommittee despite
bipartisan support in the committee and in the House overall.
Each year bipartisan support for reform and abolition of the death penalty has grown
in the Virginia General Assembly thanks to the work of VADP.
As a result, we are starting to recruit legislators from both parties to co-sponsor death
penalty abolition bills in the 2020 Virginia General Assembly session.
Problems/needs: Describe the problems and/or needs that this project/program attempts
to address, specifying the benefits the community would derive from the project/program.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the states to reintroduce capital punishment in
1976, Virginia has executed 113 people — second most in the nation behind only
Texas. Those sentenced to death are overwhelming the poor, people of color, and
those with mental illness.
Only 35% of the 133 political jurisdictions in the Commonwealth have had someone
executed in the modern era since 1976. Three jurisdictions (Prince William,
Chesterfield & Virginia Beach) have 23% of Virginia’s executions since 1976.
Seven jurisdictions (Prince William, Chesterfield, Virginia Beach, Fairfax, Hampton,
Pittsylvania, & Portsmouth) account for 41% of the state’s executions in that time.
As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once wrote, “These death sentences are
cruel and unusual in the same way that being struck by lightning is cruel and
unusual. ... the petitioners are among a capriciously selected random handful upon
whom the sentence of death has in fact been imposed.”
The death penalty is a failed government program that is prohibitively expensive,
random & discriminatory in application, and ineffective in deterring violent crime.
In addition, the mandatory appeals in capital cases turn killers into media celebrities
and ensure that family members of murder victims endure years of glaring media
attention while appeals wind their way through state and federal court systems.
In The Gospel of Life (1995), Saint John Paul II wrote, “[Punishment] ought not go to
the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: in other
words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today however,
as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such
cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent.”
Since that time the Vatican as well as the U.S. Bishops have called for an end to
executions. On May 6, 2015 the Virginia Bishops wrote, “By ending the use of the
death penalty we would take one important step — among significant others we must
take — to abandon the culture of death and embrace the culture of life.”
Activities: Describe the activities that will achieve the project/program’s goals and
objectives. (Include timeline, if practical.)
VADP convenes supporter gatherings twice each year in northern Virginia,
Charlottesville, Richmond, Norfolk, and Roanoke — in the spring and fall.
Thanks to a grant from the Sisters of Bon Secours, VADP hired a Field Director in
May 2017 to do full-time education work in the districts of eight key Republican
state legislators. His task has been to identify key local business, civic, religious,
and political leaders to advocate for adoption of death penalty reform bills.
Since starting work 18 months ago, Dale Brumfield has met with hundreds of local
leaders in places like Martinsville, Danville and Chatham, Lynchburg, Floyd and
Galax, Elkton and Shenandoah, Harrisonburg, and Winchester. In addition, Dale has
spoken about the death penalty at numerous public events across Virginia. He has
several more education sessions scheduled in the coming weeks.
VADP and its partner organizations -- the Virginia Catholic Conference, and the
ACLU of Virginia -- have identified legislators who have struggled with their
consciences to vote in favor of death penalty-related bills.
Our public educational efforts with local religious, civic, and business leaders take
place in the districts of these Delegates and Senators in order to build constituent
support for death penalty abolition.
VADP has the support of conservative and Libertarian leaders — including former
Republican Attorney General Mark Earley and former Congressman Tom Bliley. In
addition, over a dozen murder victim family members in Virginia work with VADP.
VADP supporters increase membership by hosting “friend-raising” events across the
Commonwealth. Such events have been held in Herndon, Richmond, Roanoke,
Norfolk, Charlottesville, and Washington, DC. These gatherings educate new people
about problems with the death penalty in Virginia as well as recruit new supporters
for VADP’s mission.
4.
Benefits: Identify those who will benefit from this project. (Please identify economic
status and number of persons.)
The most direct beneficiaries of VADP’s work are the two inmates on death row and
those accused of capital murder as well as their attorneys. Those accused of capital
murder are overwhelming the poor, people of color, and those with mental illness.
For example, a veteran of two tours in Afghanistan was charged with capital murder for
killing his wife and a police officer in Prince William County. It was clear that this man
suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, but was still subject to the death penalty.
Thankfully the jury in his 2018 trial did not sentence him to death for his crimes.
If we are successful in ending capital punishment, employees in our courts, criminal
justice system, and prisons would be relieved of the burden to try, sentence, and
carry out executions. Many of these individuals suffer psychological trauma from
their involvement in death sentences.
Finally, the taxpayers of Virginia would benefit from ending the death penalty which
is far more expensive than the alternative sentence of life in prison without parole.
While no comprehensive cost analysis has been done in Virginia, it is estimated that
ending capital punishment would save Virginia several million dollars each year.
Participants: Identify those who will be involved in this project/program. (Include staff,
other organizations, volunteers, and beneficiaries.)
VADP has two staff persons. Executive Director Michael Stone worked in social
ministry for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond for 25 years as well as a field
organizer for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty for 4 years. Field
Director Dale Brumfield has a varied work background as a writer, publisher,
educator, and insurance salesman.
VADP has an excellent board of directors who are actively engaged in governance and
fundraising. See attachment C for the full board list.
The two major organizational partners with VADP are the Virginia Catholic
Conference and ACLU of Virginia. A third partner - NAMI Virginia — is working
with VADP with legislators at the annual General Assembly.
VADP has clusters of key leaders in various parts of the state — Richmond,
Charlottesville, Tidewater, Roanoke, and northern Virginia. These local leaders
work with VADP to schedule regional meetings twice each year and help with
education programs, membership recruitment, and fundraising.
A former VADP board member was Virginia’s chief executioner and killed 62 people
with the electric chair and lethal injection. He speaks publicly against the death
penalty across Virginia and is often interviewed by media about his experiences.
Several family members of murder victims are VADP volunteers who speak about
their experiences at educational events. Two men who were wrongfully sentenced to
death in Pennsylvania and Alabama and later exonerated reside in Virginia and
speaks often to the public about their experiences of being wrongfully convicted and
living on death row for years.
Budget Overview:
Total budget for the project/program: $152,496
Total funds requested from the Shepherd’s Gate Grant Program: $3,000
Additional funding sources:
Funding Source Amount Budgeted Secured (Y/N)?
Individual donations $ 62,000 12% raised thus far
Board contributions 16,500 19% raised thus far
Church donations 15,000 4% raised thus far
Special events 3,000 Goal exceeded: $7,450
Foundation grants 25,000 80% raised thus far
All sources $ 121,500 38% raised thus far
Other information that has not been covered in this application nor listed in Section II.
Application Components and Required Information of the instructions may be
submitted, but please limit such comments to three pages (pictures included). Program
brochure or flyer is recommended.
See attachments.
