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Galaxy Gives 2022 Annual Report

Wedged between COVID-19 and the racial justice movements of 2020, the CJ field saw nearly 30% funding increases at the topline level. The issue areas – as we defined in Section III – that received marked increases in funding flows were those focused on Violence, Crime Survivors, Policing, Reentry, COVID-19, and Reimagining Solutions. Each issue area is discussed in detail in its respective category below.

One look at the usual dysfunction of our criminal legal system drew the attention and weight of this driven financier and philanthropist to engage and strategize for the biggest return on investment.

Alex Duran joins Jason to share with us his transformation from inmate to criminal justice reformer. He now manages a $20 million annual fund on behalf of Galaxy Gives dedicated to ending mass incarceration in the US.

As a 30 year veteran of the Michigan Department of Corrections, Andy Potter has gained invaluable experience doing one of the toughest jobs in the country. After years of putting this knowledge to work through his leadership in the Michigan Corrections Organization, Andy founded his own organization. One Voice United incorporates corrections officers and other frontline staff into the discussion of criminal justice reform. They believe corrections reform is a foundation of criminal justice reform, and through One Voice United, Andy bridges the gap between various parties and political agendas in order to achieve one common goal – reform.

Katie Schaffer teams up with Jason to discuss educating prisoners, bail reform and making our penal system more humane.

Record Industry promoter and manager Bill Underwood was given a life sentence for some old charges under the newly minted draconian laws of the war on drugs. His daughter Ebony Underwood eventually made it her life's work to gather the voices of other survivors of parental incarceration to affect change.

Mayor Adams is rummaging through a familiar toolbox to address violent crime in New York City. That includes reviving a discredited anti-gun unit responsible for repeated excessive use of force, clearing encampments where unhoused persons sleep, pushing for changes to state law to enable prosecutors to charge more 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, and increasing the NYPD’s budget by $152 million.

Women are being incarcerated for their family planning decisions, and the floodgates on new punishments are about to open.

All across New York state, prisons are closing down as the number of incarcerated persons continues to fall. And yet at one infamous state prison – Attica Correctional, site of a bloody 1971 prison revolt and still one of the most notoriously violent prisons in the country – new construction and a capital improvement project are being planned.

New York, where I was incarcerated, should respect the bodily integrity and human dignity of those it holds in prison, as should every state.

"The tragedy occurred despite the massive resources poured into NYPD and the continued expansion of its law enforcement powers."

We talk of formerly incarcerated individuals as having paid their debt to society, of having done their time. The reality is starkly different.

This year, Juneteenth is taking its rightful place as a more meaningful celebration of freedom than July 4 ever could be. It’s a day for rest, celebration, webinars and parties alike devoted to Black freedom, and, I hope, pleasure. Included in that pleasure should be a freedom to use drugs in whichever way we desire⁠—something that has been denied to Black people in this country for its entire history.

I wrote this op-ed today for the Daily News — about how Cabán’s fight to become DA for Queens affects the criminal justice reform conversation among Democratic presidential candidates for 2020.

Why reducing our prison and jail population during this public health crisis should be celebrated not attacked.

I wrote this oped for CNN Business Perspectives on why we need to invest in expanding pell to included incarcerated people. See the original story here.

I wrote this oped for the New York Daily News on why now is not the time to pull back on criminal justice reform in NYC and instead why we need to invest in a new vision for public safety that works for all New Yorkers. See the original story here.

I wrote this oped for business insider to drive attention towards the 4,000 people released from federal prison due to COVID-19 senselessly at risk of being sent back to prison by the Biden Administration. You can see the original article here.

Inside Philanthropy published this story on the relaunch of our Galaxy Leaders Program which invests in emerging directly impacted leaders fighting for justice. You can read the original story here.

I wrote this oped for Market Watch to call on my peers to use their platform to call for abolishing the Death Penalty. The time is now to end this stain on our national consciousness. You can see the original article here.

I wrote this oped for City and State because I believe we need to invest in making New Yorkers safe, but that failed punitive policies, like reinstating cash bail for low level offenses, are not the answer. You can see the original article here.

Mike Novogratz’s blog about criminal justice reform, equality, elections, and other focus areas for his family foundation, Galaxy Gives.

the Hochul administration looks to consolidate and close New York prisons, one name jumps to mind—and not just because its history is written in blood. 50 years after the famous prison uprising, it's time to close New York's worst prison: Attica.