The Community-Based Restorative Justice Program: 2024-2025 Grantee Yearbook
As part of the plan to safely shift New York City away from reliance on jails and toward a more equitable system, CUNY ISLG partnered with the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) to create the Community-Based Restorative Justice Initiative (CBRJ) to fund grassroots organizations that are currently incorporating or are seeking to incorporate restorative justice principles into their programming.
This Yearbook was created to acknowledge a year’s worth of incredible work from the 16 Community-Based Restorative Justice program grantees during the End-of-Year Community Forum, a two-day gathering of grantees, philanthropy partners, and restorative justice practitioners on June 16th and June 17th, 2025.
CBRJ grants invest in small and grassroots organizations that have historically faced barriers to accessing public funding, as well as supporting specific neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by a lack of resources and high incarceration rates. Funding would go to starting or strengthening RJ practices within their services, as well as building overall organizational capacity.
In July 2024, through a competitive solicitation process, CUNY ISLG selected 16 grantees to receive funding for the CBRJ. The awarded proposals fell into three main categories: community-based programming, training and technical assistance, and fellowships.
Each grantee carried out a 12-month period of planning and implementation. Programs received up to $300,000 in funding, based on their size and scope. As Year 1 comes to an end, we look forward to highlighting their progress and the incredible work they have accomplished.
Learn more about the work of our grantees in the end-of-year blog post.
Programming Focus
These organizations’ grants support the design and implementation of community-based, culturally responsive restorative justice programs in one or multiple contexts.
Grantee Highlight: Dream!
Participant Testimony - Gionni
Participant Testimony - Pedro
Training and Technical Assistance Focus
These organizations’ grants support the provision of training and/or technical assistance on restorative justice principles and practices to organizations or individuals for the purpose of designing and/or implementing restorative justice activities in the community.
Grantee Highlight: Mazorca Colectiva
Fellowship Focus
These organizations’ grants support the design and implementation of a restorative justice paid fellowship for individuals interested in doing restorative justice work within their communities.