Soros Justice Fellowships in Advocacy and Media

Posted by Open Society Foundations on August 11, 2014

Applications Invited for Soros Justice Fellowships in Advocacy and Media

A program of the Open Society Foundations, the Soros Justice Fellowships support outstanding individuals working to implement innovative projects that advance reform and spur debate on a range of issues facing the criminal justice system in the United States. The fellowship program is part of a larger effort by the Open Society Foundations’ Criminal Justice Fund to reduce the destructive impact of current criminal justice policies on the lives of individuals, families, and communities in the U.S. by challenging the overreliance on incarceration and harsh punishment, and by ensuring a fair and equitable system of justice for all.

Fellowships of up to $110,250 will be awarded in two categories: advocacy and media.

1) Advocacy Fellowships: These eighteen-month grants support the efforts of outstanding individuals — including lawyers, advocates, grassroots organizers, activist academics, and others with important perspectives — to initiate innovative policy advocacy projects at the local, state, and national levels that will have a measurable impact on one or more of OSF’s U.S. criminal justice priorities. Projects may range from litigation, to public education, to coalition-building, to grassroots mobilization, to policy-driven research. Fellows are expected to work full-time on their projects during the term of the fellowship. Projects can begin in the spring or fall of 2015.

2) Media Fellowships: These twelve-month grants support writers, print and broadcast journalists, bloggers, filmmakers, and other individuals with distinct voices who propose to complete a media project for local, regional, or national markets and that engages the public and spurs debate on one or more of OSF’s U.S. criminal justice priorities. Fellows are expected to work full-time on their projects during the term of the fellowship. Projects can begin in either the spring or fall of 2015.

The program strongly encourages applications that demonstrate a clear understanding of the intersection of criminal justice issues with the particular needs of low-income communities; communities of color; immigrants, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people; women and children; and those disproportionately affected by harsh criminal justice policies; as well as applications that cut across various criminal justice fields and related sectors, such as education, health and mental health, housing, and employment.

In addition, the program welcomes applications from individuals directly affected by, or with significant direct personal experience with, the policies, practices, and systems their projects seek to address (e.g., applicants who have themselves been incarcerated or who have a family member or loved one who has been incarcerated and whose fellowship project emerges from that experience).

Complete program guidelines and application instructions are available at the Open Society Foundations website.

DEADLINE: OCTOBER 22, 2014

http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/soros-justice-fellowships