The Board of the Butler Family Fund is focusing the bulk of its 2008 giving on two programs -- homelessness and criminal justice reform -- described more fully below. The Board is particularly interested in supporting organizations that are committed to addressing these problems through systemic change, advocacy, policy reform, and innovative direct service programs. The Fund places a high value on creativity and risk-taking. The Board is also interested in supporting organizations grappling with welfare law changes as they affect homelessness. The Fund gives preference to organizations with small or modest size operating budgets and to projects located in the following geographic areas: California; Texas; New York; Philadelphia; Portland, OR; Washington, D.C.; and London. The Board of the Butler Family Fund meets twice a year to make funding decisions and does not do any funding between meetings.

The Fund will also have a smaller area that will focus on global warming.

The Fund supports direct service efforts, as well as advocacy at the local, state, and/or federal levels (but not lobbying as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code). The Fund provides grants for (1) general operating support, (2) strengthening current programs, and (3) supporting new projects. The Board invites some renewals, but not for for more than three consecutive years.

Issue Areas

During 2008, the Fund will allocate about $800,000 per year approximately as follows: $384,000 for homelessness, $350,000 for criminal justice reform, and $66,000 for global warming.

In the area of homelessness, the Fund is interested in advocacy, direct service programs, and other programs that aim to prevent homelessness. In the area of advocacy, the Fund supports efforts to raise awareness in the community and among public policy makers about homelessness and the need for more publicly supported low-income housing. In the area of direct service, the Fund seeks comprehensive programs that address the development of skills and capacities that improve the ability of homeless people to maintain or regain independence and self-sufficiency. The Fund does not give money for “bricks and mortar,” and does not support freestanding shelters, food programs, or substance abuse or treatment programs.

In the area of criminal justice reform, the Fund is interested in advocacy and organizing programs that focus specifically on reforms in two areas: juvenile justice and death penalty within the following limits:

1. Juvenile Justice Reform. We will consider organizations working to lower the rates of juvenile detention and incarceration and that advocate for constructive alternatives to juvenile detention. The Fund will also support organizations that focus on youth accountability and restorative justice, that work to oppose the trend toward trying youth as adults, and that operate programs that support youth activism and organizing around these issues.
2. Death Penalty Reform. We will consider funding advocacy efforts aimed at improving the overall legal representation of death row prisoners, and at improving the fairness of the legal system regarding capital offenses and death row inmates. The Fund is particularly interested in supporting advocacy and public education efforts around suspending and repealing the death penalty. The Fund will NOT support legal representation of individual death row clients, except in test case litigation.

In the area of global warming, the Fund will seek out organizations that promote efforts to reduce the manufacture and consumption of products that increase global warming; that work to improve the energy efficiency of automobiles, household appliances, and power plants; that seek to expand the use of renewable forms of energy; that engage in advocacy and public education efforts around these issues; and that raise public awareness of global warming through activism.

The Butler Family Fund does not accept unsolicited proposals.