Envisioning Justice Grants for Individuals

These project-based grants support individuals such as educators, organizers, artists, and others who use the arts and humanities to work toward a truly just society. Research projects, podcasts, grassroots publications, and public performances are just a few of the impactful initiatives funded to create understanding about mass incarceration and its impact on communities in Illinois. By supporting those doing this important work, the program builds more affirming, engaged, and empowered communities. Priority is given to projects that are regional or statewide in scope, partnership oriented, and centering impacts of mass incarceration on populations including currently or formerly incarcerated individuals, people serving long-term sentences, young people who are justice involved, women of color impacted by gendered violence, LGBTQAI+ community, migrants and immigrants, elderly populations, people with disabilities, and Indigenous populations. Projects can also focus on communities that are the site of a prison or jail, experiencing significant incarceration, or experiencing demographic change as a result of the criminal legal system.