Founded by formerly incarcerated individuals, Initiate Justice is a California-based organization that empowers people directly impacted by incarceration to become advocates for policy change. Through programs including the Institute of Impacted Leaders, inside organizing, policy campaigns, and civic engagement initiatives, IJ builds political power with impacted families to end mass incarceration. With grants comprising 80-90% of their budget, the organization recognized the need to develop more sustainable, unrestricted funding from individual donors.
Overview
With support from Progressive Multiplier's Catalyst program, Initiate Justice embarked on a comprehensive donor development initiative to strengthen their individual giving infrastructure. The project addressed fundamental questions the organization hadn't systematically tackled: Who are our donors? Are we asking the right people? Are we asking enough? And are we asking in ways that resonate with potential supporters?
The work focused on building foundational systems rather than launching new campaigns. For an organization where every team member is directly impacted by the issues they address, this meant not only implementing technical infrastructure but also democratizing fundraising knowledge across all departments and ensuring donor communications maintained their authentic organizational voice. The project helped IJ step back from urgent daily demands to invest in strategic planning that would enable sustainable growth.
Key Strategies & Tactics
Initiate Justice's donor infrastructure initiative consisted of several integrated components designed to create a foundation for sustainable individual giving:
- Donor Segmentation and Analysis:
- Welcome Series Development:
- Comprehensive Campaign Calendar:
- CRM Implementation:
- Cross-Departmental Collaboration:
Lessons Learned
Invest in Foundational Infrastructure
Organizations often want to jump to "new things, fun things" in fundraising before ensuring the fundamentals are in place—IJ's success came from stepping back to answer basic questions about their donor base first.
Leverage Existing Organizational Strengths
Skills developed in other areas—database management, collective decision-making, authentic communication—proved directly transferable to donor development work.
Democratize Fundraising Knowledge
Making fundraising accessible across all departments, not siloed with development staff, was critical for an organization where every team member is directly impacted by the issues they address.
Maintain Authentic Voice
For organizations led by directly impacted people, staying true to organizational voice when building a donor base isn't just important—it's essential to attracting the right supporters.
Build in Time for Strategic Reflection
The persistent challenge of balancing urgent community needs with stepping back for strategic planning highlighted the importance of incorporating infrastructure assessment into annual operational plans, similar to program evaluation.
Embrace Collaborative Support
The most valuable support came from workshopping ideas and addressing struggles collaboratively, rather than receiving prescriptive solutions—having a partner who asked "What do you need?" enabled co-development of projects that truly fit the organization.
Conduct Capacity Assessment Early
A deeper initial inventory of revenue generation capabilities at the beginning of an engagement helps identify gaps and prioritize infrastructure investments more effectively.
Impact
Through this initiative, Initiate Justice built the foundational infrastructure necessary for sustainable individual donor growth. The project addressed critical gaps in their fundraising approach: they now know who their donors are, have systems to engage them consistently, and possess the tools to tell their complete story across all programs—not just the most visible initiatives.
The CRM implementation and welcome series create better visibility across all of IJ's interconnected work: policy change, outside organizing, inside organizing, and civic engagement. This holistic storytelling helps supporters understand how each program supports the collective mission of ending incarceration by harnessing the political power of those directly impacted. The communications calendar ensures consistent donor touchpoints throughout the year, coordinated across multiple channels and tied to key organizational milestones.
Perhaps most significantly, the project helped IJ shift their perspective from viewing supporters as separate monoliths—volunteers, donors, organizers—to seeing them as a collective. This approach recognizes the importance of cross-pollination: petition signers becoming event attendees, volunteers becoming donors, donors becoming volunteers. These deeper, multi-touch connections strengthen supporters' investment in the organization's work and create greater power when mobilizing for action. For an organization where every team member is directly impacted by the issues they work on, building donor engagement systems that maintain their authentic voice while making complex issues accessible represents a powerful achievement that will enable sustainable growth for years to come.
