PJI Receives $2 Million Gift from the Yield Giving Open Call
Today, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced the Promise of Justice Initiative as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. PJI received $2 million, the largest single gift in the organization’s 12-year history.
“Right now in Louisiana, we are in one of the toughest climates for criminal legal reform work ever,” said Samantha Kennedy, PJI Executive Director. “Against sometimes insurmountable odds, PJI continues the fight for the promise of dignity, autonomy, and justice for people who are unseen and often forgotten, and for their families and loved ones and the communities we call home. We know that there is a pathway that will lead to safer and more secure communities, and this gift recognizes that the work PJI does every day is more vital and relevant than ever. We are honored to receive this gift and the powerful vote of confidence from Yield Giving and all the peer and expert reviewers across the country who engaged in the process.”
In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources. The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.
"We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations," said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. "In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”
PJI continues to fight in the courts to challenge unconstitutional conditions of forced labor at Angola, to end the illegal practice of overdetention, and to remedy unconstitutional and “abhorrent” medical care for incarcerated people. PJI is also advocating at the legislature to abolish the death penalty, end the injustice of Jim Crow juries for everyone still incarcerated with a nonunanimous jury verdict, and advance the voices of crime survivors and loved ones.
More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.