MEMORANDUM
TO: Applicants to the Tides Death Penalty Mobilization Fund and
Funders for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
FROM: Members, Funders for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
(FADP)'
RE: Funding allocations for 2011-2012
DATE: November 21, 2011
cc: Pat Clark
We are writing to provide you with up-to-date information regarding funding
process made by members of the FADP for the 2011-2012 funding period.
We want to thank you all for your extremely important work and your ongoing
dedication. We are impressed by the breadth and quality of the submissions we
received and by your commitment to this important work. In particular, we are
grateful to see the increasing levels of coordinated strategy reflected in your
proposals. It is clear that you are working together, sharing successes and lessons
learned - all of which makes us energized about the ultimate goal of abolition.
In mid October, the members of FADP and the Tides Death Penalty Mobilization
Fund met to discuss the LOIs and proposals that were submitted. While the
decision-making processes and the composition of funders for each of these
funding mechanisms are different, there was nonetheless a high level of
coordination that took place between the two funding entities to ensure that
decisions were made with as full a picture as possible as we aim to avoid gaps in
funding and to prevent unnecessary duplication of work.
During our deliberations, we worked to align our funding decisions with the needs
of the field and the strategic priorities described in the most recent strategy paper,
which was developed in active conversation with the field and the Steering
Committee of the Campaign to Abolish the Death Penalty by 2025. We also
conducted due diligence, following up where we had questions. It is both a
challenge and a disappointment that the available funds we have at our disposal
are only a fraction of what could be spent on such a worthy and effective
campaign. This year through the annual FADP/Tides DPMF allocations process
we received requests totaling approximately $10 million (just $76 short of that!).
We will fund $4.8 million in grants through this process. FADP also will provide an
additional $2.7 million towards those same organizations through decisions made
1 Participating funders in 2011: Atlantic Philanthropies, Butler Family Fund, Fund for
Nonviolence, Open Society Foundation, Sheilah’s Fund at Tides, and Tides Foundation and
Tides Advocacy Fund’s Death Penalty Mobilization Fund (Atlantic Philanthropies, Open
Society Foundation and Sheilah’s Fund at Tides)
prior to the annual allocations process (in some cases already committed multi-
year funding to be paid out over the coming year, for example) and $1.8 million
that includes funds for campaign coordination, the Movement Building Fund,
Rockwood Training program, research and additional grants that are not part of
the FADP/Tides DPMF allocations process. All together, we estimate that $9.3
million is being committed annually from FADP funders towards the U.S. anti-
death penalty movement. We would also like to note that additional anti-death
penalty funding is being provided this year through the Vital Projects Fund and the
Sigrid Rausing Trust, and we will continue to be in close contact with these
funders while we also seek additional donors to join us in this critical work.
We take into account many factors in our decision-making process. Each of the
philanthropic institutions that we represent has a distinct mission and areas of
priorities which we consider when we make funding decisions. For example, the
Open Society Foundations’ Criminal Justice Fund supports efforts to challenge
harsh punishment (including the death penalty) and to ensure a more equitable
system of justice by supporting strategies that include litigation, advocacy,
community organizing, research and analysis and community organizing. The
Butler Family Fund makes small grants to act as seed money or to fill specific gaps.
Thus, when making funding recommendations to our individual boards, each of us
must consider the strategic priorities identified by the Steering Committee of the
Abolition 2025 Campaign as well as the funding priorities of our respective
institutions.
In addition to explaining the process and our funding decisions, we also wanted to
communicate with you about two additional issues—future funding and racial
justice.
Each affinity group of the 2025 Campaign is making critical contributions to the
field. We are excited that this year the Community of Color Working Group came
together and held its first meeting in Memphis, Tennessee. We share your
commitment to using the racial justice lens, whether it is in messaging and
communications, or strategy around leadership development and grassroots
organizing. We too recognize the prominent role that race has played in the
application of the death penalty. Grants from Atlantic Philanthropies’ Movement
Building Fund are specifically designed to support this important work. There are
no deadlines to apply for this funding.
Finally, like you, we recognize the need to expand the pool of available funding
given FADP’s limitations. We are encouraged by those organizations diversifying
their funding bases through outreach to individual donors and local fundraising.
Raising additional funds at the state and local level strikes us as integral to the
mission of each organization working on this issue. We are committed to
supporting local fundraising capacity through technical assistance where we can.
In addition, we intend to fund a program officer position that will be dedicated to
developing additional resources for the 2025 Campaign. We will also continue to
reach out to potential new funders in order to generate much-needed additional
resources.
We hope this memo provides clarity about our decision-making process. We are
committed to continuing a process that is open and collaborative and are actively
working to improve our processes. Given the gap between funding needs and
available resources, we understand that there will inevitably be disappointments
and anxiety. We welcome your feedback and look forward to the many
accomplishments we anticipate in 2012 and beyond.
