What We Heard
Designated staff The need for a designated and paid staff person to work on issues of funding (fundraising, grant writing, networking, etc.) was frequently raised. This recommendation also serves as a funding request; that either funders allot monies for this need and/or work to keep the administrative burden light by not making it unduly dif cult to apply for funds and report on how those funds are used. The break-out session in Maryland also suggested that sharing certain staff positions (professional fundraiser, attorney, bookkeeper, etc.) amongst a variety of restorative justice programs could be one way to have designated staff person(s) without organizations having to individually shoulder the burden of a full-time salary. Equity In both Minnesota and the Bay Area it was brought up that a.) restorative justice is an intersectional justice and b.) community organizing and advocacy plays a pivotal role in creating opportunities for funding and identifying how best to use those funds. At one session it was simply stated by a funder that “funding follows movements.” The need to prioritize funding local restorative justice providers was identi ed as an issue of justice and equity in its own right. The Bay Area carried this thread to the point of identifying that there are some funders who are working on adopting an equity lens in their funding decisions. The conversation of how to engage with the funding community and how to make equitable funding decisions in a restorative manner was a theme throughout each session. Education Education was a theme that came up at most sessions, though in different applications. Minnesota needs to see more education being done in the community and with funders concerning what restorative justice is and its bene ts. Maryland suggested that RJ practitioners should meet in circle to better understand their work and to develop a self-evaluation tool for restorative programs that would measure where they are and where they want to work towards. British Columbia placed emphasis on building technical skills amongst practitioners and for funders to hold workshops so that grantees could better use the resources available to them.
“Capitalism, modernity and individualism create the conditions that divide us into scarcity mentality and competition. Gate keeping and fear are there, but at the heart people in Minnesota know it’s all [about] being grounded in relationships and that restorative justice is a different paradigm. Even this convening was a reminder of what was at the center. That relationships are at the center.” Participant, Minnesota Listening Session
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