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Fund for Fair and Just Policing

Parent Organization: Tides Advocacy (The Advocacy Fund)
Type:

Criminal Justice Policy Advocacy Group
Fiscal Sponsor:

Tides Advocacy 1

References

  1. “Fund For Fair And Just Policing”. 2020. The Atlantic Philanthropies. Accessed July 6, 2020. Original URL: https://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/grants/fund-for-fair-and-just-policing. Archived URL: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/07/Fund-for-Fair-and-Just-Policing.-Atlantic-Philanthropies-Grant.-07.29.20.pdf

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The Fund for Fair and Just Policing is a left-of-center criminal justice and policy advocacy group that is a project of Tides Advocacy, a major incubator of new left-of-center advocacy groups and the that is the electoral and lobbying arm of the Tides Nexus.

The Fund’s primary focus is on New York City, where it is a funder of the anti-police organization Communities United for Police Reform (CUPR). Backed by Fund for Fair and Just Policing resources, CUPR challenged the controversial “stop and frisk” policies enacted by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during his tenure from 2001 to 2013. 1 The organization is also affiliated with Make the Road New York, another project of Tides Advocacy. 2

The Fund was founded in 2011 with support from the Bermuda-based Atlantic Philanthropies and the Open Society Foundations, one of the foundations funded by billionaire George Soros. 3 The fund has also received contributions from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. 4

Background

The Tides Foundation, a prominent left-of-center pass-through funding entity, began to take an interest in policing policy in 2010. Together with its 501(c)(4) “sister” organization, Tides Advocacy (formerly “The Advocacy Fund”), it began working with center-left organizations in New York City to promote police reform efforts. Tides set up the Fund for Fair and Just Policing to direct resources to policing policy efforts. 5 The group was initially called the Campaign for Fair and Just Policing in earlier grant reports from funders, but was being referred to as the Fund for Fair and Just Policing by 2013. 6 7

Tides (via the Fund for Fair and Just Policing) sponsored a police reform briefing in 2015 with the Open Society Foundations, North Star Fund, and Atlantic Philanthropies to celebrate its activities. The coalition created connections with labor unions, expansionist-immigration groups, LGBT-interest organizations, and other left-wing constituencies and organizations. The coalition also promoted community change in addition to legislative change. 8

Organizations Funded

In 2015, the Fund for Fair and Just Policing granted $8 million to support  Communities United for Police Reform (although as a project, the funds were paid out by Tides Advocacy). CUPR opposes police practices such as “stop and frisk” and has supported calls to defund the New York City Police Department. 9

The Fund for Fair and Just Policing financed a website launched by John Jay College’s Center on Race, Crime, and Justice. The website contained information published by opponents of “stop and frisk.” The website worked with closely with CUPR, academics, and other activist organizations. The website contained reports, videos, and articles on the legality, impact, and effectiveness of stop and frisk. It also contained alternatives to stop and frisk. 10

Funding

The Fund for Fair and Just Policing is a project of the 501(c)(4) Tides Advocacy; as such, Fund for Fair and Just Policing does not file its own tax returns with the IRS and little of its internal finances and few of its donors are known. 11

The Fund received significant contributions early in its existence from the Atlantic Philanthropies and the Open Society Foundations, one of the foundations funded by billionaire George Soros. In 2013, Atlantic Philanthropies donated $2.2 million to the Fund through one of its U.S.-based 501(c)(4) groups, the Atlantic Advocacy Fund. The grant was used to support opposition to “stop and frisk.” 12

The Open Society Foundations has continued to fund much of Tides Advocacy’s criminal justice work and gave the organization $500,000 in 2019 to “support policy advocacy on criminal justice reform.” 13

During the 2019-2020 tax year, the fund received $1 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a left-of-center funding group created from the fortune of Meta (Facebook) founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. 14

References

  1. Joel Rose. “Mike Bloomberg Can’t Shake the Legacy of Stop-And-Frisk Policing In New York.” NPR. February 25, 2020. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2020/02/25/809368292/the-legacy-of-stop-and-frisk-policing-in-michael-bloombergs-new-york
  2. “Youth Power Focuses on Fair Policing.” Make the Road NY. October 5, 2011. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://maketheroadny.org/youth-power-focuses-on-fair-policing/
  3. Beth Ritchie, Andrea J. Ritchie. “The Crisis of Criminalization: A Call for Comprehensive Philanthropic Response.” Barnard Center for Research on Women. Accessed September 19, 2022. Original URL: http://bcrw.barnard.edu/wp-content/nfs/reports/NFS9-Challenging-Criminalization-Funding-Perspectives.pdf.
  4. Devine, Shane. “America’s New Justice System, Funded by Soros and Zuckerberg.”  The American Conservative. April 27, 2021, Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/americas-new-justice-system-funded-by-soros-and-zuckerberg/
  5. “How Tides Sustains A Movement for Fair And Just Policing.” Tides Foundation. 2015. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.tides.org/accelerating-social-change/nonprofit-management-infrastructure/how-tides-sustains-a-movement-for-fair-and-just-policing/
  6. “Fund for Fair and Just Policing.” Atlantic Philanthropies. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/grants?q=fair+and+just+policing&date-range-start=1982&date-range-end=2022&amount-start=0&amount-end=1000000000&qtyresults=50&sort=grant_year_awarded%7CDESC
  7. “Youth Power Focuses on Fair Policing.” Make the Road NY. October 5, 2011. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://maketheroadny.org/youth-power-focuses-on-fair-policing/
  8. [1]  “How Tides Sustains A Movement for Fair And Just Policing.” Tides Foundation. 2015. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.tides.org/accelerating-social-change/nonprofit-management-infrastructure/how-tides-sustains-a-movement-for-fair-and-just-policing/
  9. “How Tides Sustains A Movement for Fair And Just Policing.” Tides Foundation. 2015. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.tides.org/accelerating-social-change/nonprofit-management-infrastructure/how-tides-sustains-a-movement-for-fair-and-just-policing/
  10. “Center Unveils Online Information Resource on Stop-And-Frisk Police Practices.”  John Jay College. 2020. Accessed September 19, 2022. http://johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu/newsroom/6794.php
  11.  “Fund for Fair and Just Policing.” Atlantic Philanthropies. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/grants?q=fair+and+just+policing&date-range-start=1982&date-range-end=2022&amount-start=0&amount-end=1000000000&qtyresults=50&sort=grant_year_awarded%7CDESC
  12. Beth Ritchie, Andrea J. Ritchie. “The Crisis of Criminalization: A Call for Comprehensive Philanthropic Response.” Barnard Center for Research on Women. Accessed September 19, 2022. http://bcrw.barnard.edu/wp-content/nfs/reports/NFS9-Challenging-Criminalization-Funding-Perspectives.pdf
  13. “Tides Advocacy.” Open Society Foundations. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=tides+advocacy&page=3&grant_id=OR2019-63979
  14. Devine, Shane. “America’s New Justice System, Funded by Soros and Zuckerberg.”  The American Conservative. April 27, 2021. Accessed September 19, 2022. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/americas-new-justice-system-funded-by-soros-and-zuckerberg/
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