Topic: Human Rights

Equal Justice Initiative’s New Memorial Featured on “60 Minutes”

On April 26, 2018, the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) will open the United States’ first memorial dedicated to the thousands of African-Americans lynched over a seven-decade period following the Civil War, and a new museum dedicated to slavery and its legacy today. EJI is supported by the Foundation’s Human Rights program. Continue Reading

Empowering Those Closest to the Problems: $2M for Groundswell Fund

We are delighted to announce a $2 million grant in support of the Groundswell Fund, an organization that is responding to the myriad needs of… Continue Reading

Statement Regarding DACA

Today, the Heising-Simons Foundation joined 14 other California foundations in a joint CEO statement denouncing President Trump’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. We object to the President’s shameful decision in the strongest terms— and we stand in support of, and in solidarity with, the many nonprofit organizations we fund throughout the country that work to support these young people. Continue Reading

News Regarding Money Bail Reform in California

California Governor Jerry Brown and Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye have joined legislative leaders to support looking at reforms in California’s money bail system in 2018.… Continue Reading

The Value of Higher Education for Currently and Formerly Incarcerated Individuals

Renewing Communities is a four-year initiative based in California that seeks to provide high-quality courses to students inside prisons and jails, and to help formerly incarcerated students on college campuses transform their lives. Continue Reading

Accounting for Violence: Four Questions for Danielle Sered, Director of Common Justice

In Brooklyn, NY, grantee Common Justice provides wraparound services to crime victims and operates the first alternative-to-incarceration program in adult U.S. courts to focus on... Continue Reading

Foundation Joins Voices Calling for Inclusive Immigration Policies

The Heising-Simons Foundation has joined more than 190 philanthropic institutions calling for immigration policies that "reflect our nation’s founding principles, promote cohesion and inclusion, instill… Continue Reading

Human Rights Grantee The Marshall Project Receives Journalism Award

Last year, an investigation by Christie Thompson of The Marshall Project and Joseph Shapiro of National Public Radio found out that many state and federal… Continue Reading

Wall Street Journal Features Human Rights Grantee on Future of DACA

Here is a powerful video about the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), featuring Educators for Fair Consideration (E4FC), a project supported by the… Continue Reading