The Community Justice Reform Coalition and Action Fund are being launched to provide leadership on gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform issues from within communities of color. Currently, the organizations leading these efforts are not led by people of color and have failed to implement strategies that engage communities most impacted by gun violence. The Coalition will advocate for evidence-based policy reforms and intervention programs, elevate the priorities of communities of color, and provide funding infrastructure for local organizations working to reduce violence in urban areas through a three-pronged approach of building community, fighting for reform, and seeking justice.

1. WWW.COMMUNITYJUSTICERC.ORG
In an effort to offer a centralized voice for communities of color engaged in gun violence
prevention, we are launching the Community Justice Reform Coalition and Action Fund.
Currently, the national and local organizations that receive the majority of funding to
prevent gun violence and reform the criminal justice system are not led by people of
color – people who are most affected by these issues. The ideological and practical
distance between those leading these efforts and those most affect by these issues has
diminished the strength of the movement and the ability of people of color to advocate
for meaningful change and impactful solutions that are reflective of their personal realities.
In 2016, twenty-one of the top national gun violence prevention organizations were
surveyed about the diversity of their leadership and engagement with communities of
color. The survey found that only 1% of the organizations had a person of color in a
leadership position and less than 30% had a communications or program strategy that
involved working with communities of color. On-going conversations about redirecting
resources to communities of color by established organizations working on gun violence
prevention have not lead to changes in strategy or leadership that elevated people most
impacted by gun violence -thus an organization dedicated to this effort is needed.
Through advocacy, communications, and funding CJRC/CJRAF will provide leadership on
the issues of gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform from within communities
of color, uplifting priorities that are evidence based and resonate with impacted
communities.
COMMUNITY JUSTICE REFORM COALITION
ACTION FUND

2. WWW.COMMUNITYJUSTICERC.ORG
Evidence based policy reforms and intervention programs that authentically address
gun violence prevention in communities of color have been identified. The 2016 report
“Healing Communities in Crisis” produced in partnership by PICO National Network and
the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence demonstrate the effectiveness of policies that
decrease the supply of crime guns in impacted communities and intervention programs
that interrupt violence and connect communities to services, strategies supported by
communities of color. CJRC will work to elevate and implement such strategies.
“The crisis of American gun violence is perhaps most visible in our nation’s urban
centers. The United States already has a higher-than-average homicide rate, but in
cities like Baltimore and Detroit, that rate can be up to 10 times higher. And poor,
minority communities are often the hardest hit—young black men in particular face a
homicide rate 20 times higher than the national average. We have a shared duty to
address this dire crisis and save the lives of those most vulnerable.”
Given the everyday violence that happens in urban areas, the hate-filled massacres in
Charleston and Orlando, we believe that forming this broad based coalition and strategic
funding sources will dramatically reduce violence in our communities.
Community Justice Reform Action Fund:
The Community Justice Reform Action Fund will be a project and partnership of the Black
Civic Engagement Fund/New Majority Fund. CJRAF will serve as a centralized fund to give
resources and infrastructure to support work in urban areas on gun violence prevention
and criminal justice reform.

3. WWW.COMMUNITYJUSTICERC.ORG
Community Justice Reform Coalition:
The Community Justice Reform Coalition is broad based coalition of leaders and
organizations working at the nexus of gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform
movement. We are aiming to build an infrastructure in the areas most impacted by gun
violence in urban communities of color. We will also support policy reform on local, state
and federal levels, and provide strategic communications efforts that are reflective of
communities of color.
**Although we mention and will be engaging communities of color from all backgrounds,
it should be noted that the focus of the work out in communities and funding sources will
go to those most impacted and marginalized, which are young black men and women.
Our Theory of Change:
When we build, communicate with, and fund a national conversation that is centered
around the nexus of gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform in communities
of color, we can and will reduce gun violence.
Three prong approach:
1) Build Community: Funding Infrastructure
Purpose: We will help fund infrastructure for leaders and organizations in
urban communities of color that are utilizing evidence-based programming
to reduce gun violence and seek criminal justice reform.
Opportunity: Currently, the funding landscape for communities of color
working at this nexus are limited to grants for convening and are not multi-
year. With the CJRCAF, groups already utilizing evidence-based programs
will be given additional funding to scale up their programs for long term
engagement.
CJRA will be fiscally sponsored as a project of BCEF/NMF and will be lead by a team of
funders who will build financial support for the fund.

4. WWW.COMMUNITYJUSTICERC.ORG
2) Fight for Reform: Social Policy
Purpose: We will create a strategic public policy platform that includes
community based intervention programs and existing policies that directly
address urban gun violence. We will work inside and outside the traditional
public policy spaces to fight for reforms in our communities to end gun
violence.
Opportunity: Currently, there is not a person of color in a leadership position
within the gun violence prevention policy leadership, thus creating a gap
in how policies are implemented on every level of government. Creating a
multi-year and multi-level policy agenda will help close the leadership gap
within the violence policy space, and help to create new social policies that
will not further criminalize communities of color.
3) Seek Justice: Strategic Communications
Purpose: We will use communications and story-telling tools, data, and
analytics to drive the conversation around where injustices are occuring in our
communities, and subsequently help to implement community-led solutions.
Opportunity: Currently many media outlets fail to tell the stories and
experiences of communities of color in urban areas. If our stories are told,
they are not through the solutions-based lens, and do not have a racial
justice analysis. We will use communications tools such as rapid response
analytics on social media, online story banks, and blogs to help amplify how
communities of color are working towards solutions, and talk about the root
causes of much of the violence in urban areas.

5. WWW.COMMUNITYJUSTICERC.ORG
Structure
CJRC will be lead by Amber Goodwin, Founder and Executive Director, and will be funded
as a C-4 organization.
CRJC will have a National Strategy Team led by leaders in the gun violence prevention
and criminal justice space.
CJRC will also have a National Advisory Committee led by prominent leaders.
Partnerships
CJRC is a national coalition and will partner with both individuals and organizations in an
effort to create a holistic approach to working in urban communities of color.
Strategic Partners:
Individual leaders or organizations that are lead by, or support (majority)
communities of color.

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Allied Partners:
Individual leaders or organizations that are not lead by, but support (majority)
communities of color, or seek to do so.
Allied partners will be part of a national team of individuals working with the
CJRC advisory committee.
Each practice area (policy, funding, communications) will have a lead CJRC
team member that help disseminate information to allied partners on how
they can work as an ally with CJRC.
Strategic partners will be part of a national team of individuals working with
the CJRC advisory committee.
Each practice area (policy, funding, communications) will have a lead CJRC
team member that will execute monthly emails and conference calls to get
feedback and advice from members of the strategic partnership team.