People in prison have good ideas.
Let’s bring them to life.
The Inside Impact Fund provides the financial resources necessary for incarcerated people to develop and lead activities, events, and other initiatives that meet their needs and advance their interests and ambitions.
Several women want to start a book club focused on stories by and about women as a foundation for writing their own stories but are limited by what’s available in their prison library.
A support group for fathers wants to invite an expert in trauma as a guest speaker but can’t offer a small stipend and pay for the person’s travel expenses.
People who want to use yoga to calm their minds and tune their bodies can’t afford mats, blocks, and other props essential for beginners.
These are just a few of the many good ideas that never come to life inside prison because correctional facilities aren’t set up to support small-scale initiatives led by incarcerated people, and most prisons are too far away from major cities to benefit from a steady stream of volunteers and programs run by nonprofit organizations. The award-winning podcast Ear Hustle and 1,000 Mile Club took shape in San Quentin largely because the prison sits less than 20 miles from San Francisco, but there’s no shortage of good ideas among the tens of thousands of people incarcerated in California’s other prisons, most of which are far from major cities. All too often, the only thing preventing a great idea from moving forward is the lack of a few low-cost items.
The Inside Impact Fund makes small-scale grants ranging from $200 to $2,000 in response to proposals from incarcerated people in California. We’re not only moving resources from the free world into prison, we’re making visible the ideas, talents, energy, and accomplishments of people who are largely invisible within society at large.
The Fund’s Grant’s Council made the first grants in July of 2024. Check back soon for stories about our first round of grantees!
For more about the grant-making process, see How to Apply.
