The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.
Equal Justice Initiative’s recent grant history is anchored by two large public-education and project-support awards to The Legacy Foundation: $30,000,000 in 2025 and $20,000,000 in 2024. That scale sits alongside smaller Alabama grants tied to food access, showing a funder that pairs major institutional support with targeted community aid. Their stated priorities center on ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment, challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for vulnerable people in American society. The foundation also funds work connected to racial justice education and remembrance. Its active program list includes a Racial Justice Essay Contest for high school students, which awards scholarships for essays on racial justice topics, and a Community Remembrance Project that supports coalitions memorializing victims of racial violence through markers, soil collections, research, and education. On the service side, EJI backs anti-hunger organizations across Alabama and also provides direct grocery subsidies to families experiencing food insecurity. Recent recipients include West Alabama Food Bank, Greater Birmingham Ministries, and East Alabama Food Bank, each receiving support for reducing food insecurity. The pattern suggests a grantmaker that uses both large public-education commitments and narrower project-based grants to advance racial justice and basic needs work in Alabama.
EJI’s cause areas cluster around anti-hunger work, racial justice education, and community memorialization. In food access, the foundation gave $100,000 to West Alabama Food Bank for reducing food insecurity, and it awarded $50,000 to Greater Birmingham Ministries for the same purpose. Its active Hunger Relief programs extend that approach by supporting nonprofit food-assistance organizations across Alabama and providing direct subsidies for families to buy groceries. In racial justice education, EJI uses project support and scholarships as part of its public-facing work. The Racial Justice Essay Contest awards scholarships to high school students writing about racial justice topics. In historical memory, the Community Remembrance Project supports coalitions that install markers, collect soil, and conduct local research and education to memorialize victims of racial violence. These grantmaking choices align with the foundation’s broader focus on racial injustice, legacy of slavery, and racial terror lynching.
$30M
$455.3M
$79.6M
$75.6M
Most grants fall between $50K and $100K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$50K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$100K
About 100% of grants go to recipients in AL.
SIA SANNEH
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Typical grant size is $50,000 at the median, with a p25 of $50,000 and a p75 of $100,000, though the recent record also includes two much larger public-education grants of $20,000,000 and $30,000,000. The recent list is dominated by Alabama recipients, and the foundation’s giving scope is local. Every listed grant in the data goes to an Alabama organization, indicating a tightly concentrated grant pattern rather than broad national dispersal. The available information also shows project-based support and public-education funding, with no evidence here of individual grants or program-related investments.
Grantmaking is concentrated in Alabama, with 100% of listed grants going to recipients in the state. Recent recipients include Montgomery, Birmingham, Auburn, Northport, and Selma. The largest awards in the record go to Montgomery-based The Legacy Foundation, while food-security grants also reach West Alabama Food Bank in Northport and East Alabama Food Bank in Auburn. The recipient-country distribution is entirely U.S.-based, with 9 grants in the United States.
The foundation’s stated priorities include criminal justice reform, the death penalty, children in prison, wrongful convictions, excessive punishment, prison conditions, racial justice, legacy of slavery, racial terror lynching, racial segregation, anti-poverty, hunger relief, health care, public education, and museum and memorial programs.
The typical grant size in the data is $50,000 at the median. The p25 is also $50,000, and the p75 is $100,000, showing a cluster around mid-five-figure awards with some larger project grants.
Its giving scope is local, and all listed grants go to recipients in Alabama. Cities in the recent record include Montgomery, Birmingham, Auburn, Northport, and Selma.
Active programs include Hunger Relief, which supports nonprofit food-assistance organizations and direct grocery subsidies for families in Alabama; the Racial Justice Essay Contest, which awards scholarships to high school students; and the Community Remembrance Project, which supports memorialization efforts tied to racial violence.
Recent grantees include The Legacy Foundation, West Alabama Food Bank, Medical Advocacy and Outreach, Greater Birmingham Ministries, East Alabama Food Bank, Society of St Andrews, Edmunite Mission, and Helping Hands Food Ministry.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Current and upcoming funding from Equal Justice Initiative that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: EJI works with local coalitions at the county level and supports communities that undertake memorialization work related to racial terror lynching and historical injustice.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE LEGACY FOUNDATION | MONTGOMERY, AL | $30,000,000 | 2025 | PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PROJECT SUPPORT |
| THE LEGACY FOUNDATION | MONTGOMERY, AL | $20,000,000 | 2024 | PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PROJECT SUPPORT |
| WEST ALABAMA FOOD BANK | NORTHPORT, AL | $100,000 | 2023 | REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY |
| MEDICAL ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH | MONTGOMERY, AL | $50,000 | 2023 | REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY |
| GREATER BIRMINGHAM MINISTRIES | BIRMINGHAM, AL | $50,000 | 2023 | REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY |
| EAST ALABAMA FOOD BANK | AUBURN, AL | $50,000 | 2023 | REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY |
| SOCIETY OF ST ANDREWS | BIRMINGHAM, AL | $50,000 | 2023 | REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY |
| EDMUNITE MISSION | SELMA, AL | $50,000 | 2023 | REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY |
| HELPING HANDS FOOD MINISTRY | MONTGOEMRY, AL | $25,000 | 2023 | REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY |
THE LEGACY FOUNDATION
$30,000,000PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PROJECT SUPPORT
THE LEGACY FOUNDATION
$20,000,000PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PROJECT SUPPORT
WEST ALABAMA FOOD BANK
$100,000REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY
MEDICAL ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH
$50,000REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY
GREATER BIRMINGHAM MINISTRIES
$50,000REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY
EAST ALABAMA FOOD BANK
$50,000REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY
SOCIETY OF ST ANDREWS
$50,000REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY
EDMUNITE MISSION
$50,000REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY
HELPING HANDS FOOD MINISTRY
$25,000REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY
