Foundation for Justice

FOUNDATION FOR JUSTICE HISTORY

Foundation For Justice was founded in 2020 with the goal of engaging professional and collegiate athletes, coaches, and administrators across the Twin Cities to improve social justice and racial equality in our country. The work is focused on impacting 4 key social justice issues: Police & Community Relations, Criminal Justice Reform, Economic Inclusion, and Voter Engagement

VISION & MISSION

VISION: Foundation For Justice exists to end social injustices and racial inequality so future generations have the opportunity to thrive without barriers. 

MISSION: Our mission is to achieve social and racial equality using the platform of sports influence and support to impact systemic social and civic change in the areas of Police & Community Relations, Criminal Justice Reform, Economic Inclusion, and Voter Engagement.

VALUES

The unique value proposition of the Foundation For Justice is the ability to leverage an unparalleled, mainstream platform of sport to REACH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS and INFLUENCE ACTION among loyal fans, youth, and the general public in an impactful way to affect systemic and civic social change and achieve social justice and racial equality, by elevating the work of subject matter experts, community advocates, and grassroots organizations.

By tackling key issues with guidance from a variety of evidence-based, subject matter experts, Foundation For Justice members have become credible messengers to generate mass popular support and mobilize action to highlight and correct the systemic and civic inequalities in our country. 

AREAS OF IMPACT

• POLICE & COMMUNITY RELATIONS:

1. Guiding Objectives: End racial disparity and criminalization of poverty in policing and criminal justice. Establish greater trust between the police and community by having a significant impact in the reduction of police brutality.

2. Top-Line Issues: Policing in Schools, Police Transparency & Accountability, Police Misconduct 

3. Statistics: 1,099 people killed by police in 2019, 3x more likely to be killed if you’re black, In a study between 2011-2014, 3.49x more likely to be shot if you’re black, 1.7 million students attend school with a police officer but no school counselor 

• CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM: 

1. Guiding Objectives: Contribute to change in local and state government policies through advocacy impacting criminal justice reform legislation. Educate the public on social justice and racial equality issues directly impacting local communities, and engage public participation towards solutions. 

2. Top-Line Issues: Bail Reform, Juvenile Justice, Mass Incarceration 

3. Statistics: 555,000 people held nightly without a conviction, $13.6 billion taxpayer money spent on holding people presumed innocent in custody

• ECONOMIC INCLUSION: 

1. Guiding Objectives: Close opportunity gap for students in low-income communities. Reduce generational poverty by providing financial capability services to underserved populations. Connect low-income, young adults as well as justice impacted citizens to the economic mainstream through skill development, education, training and experience. 

2. Top-Line Issues: Digital Divide, Generational Poverty, Reentry and Recidivism 

3. Statistics: The average net worth for a white family is $171,000 while the average net worth of a Black family is $17,150, About 10.5 million children or 14.4% of children lived in poverty in 2019 (pre-COVID)

• VOTER AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT:

1. Guiding Objectives: We work with teams, leagues and athletes to leverage the power of sports to deliver a message of civic engagement through digital campaigns, town halls and major sporting events. We partner with nonpartisan voter registration organizations, as well as state election officials, to provide accurate and effective voter registration sessions for teams, athletes and fans and address the specific needs of a given state

2. Top-Line Issues: Voter suppression, Voter Turnout, State, Federal and Local Representative Engagement

3. Statistics: 33 laws have been enacted in 19 states to restrict access to voting in 2021, Black people had to wait in line to vote for twice as long as white people on average

WORK ACROSS PROFESSIONAL & COLLEGIATE LEAGUES & TEAMS:

Foundation For Justice is made up of a network of professional and collegiate athletes and coaches across sports leagues to improve social justice and racial equality in our communities.

Thank you for your interest in donating to the Foundation For Justice! Your generosity will help the Foundation For Justice educate and empower the Minneapolis and St. Paul sports community to end racial bias, promote social justice and better race relations. From our program partnerships to fundraising events, your contributions do not go unnoticed.

Propel Nonprofits is the 501c3 fiscal sponsor of Foundation for Justice