What the Fund is about
The purpose of the NAPD Fund for Justice is to enhance the right to counsel and public defense in the United States.
The NAPD Fund for Justice is a tax-exempt Kentucky nonprofit organization
On March 4, 2019, the IRS provided The NAPD Fund for Justice, Inc. with a determination letter that granted The NAPD Fund for Justice, Inc. tax exempt status. The IRS stated, “We’re pleased to tell you we determined you’re exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501 (c) (3). Donors can deduct contributions they make to you under IRC 170. You’re also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts under Section 2055, 2106, or 2522.” The tax-exempt status is retroactive to July 9, 2018 when The Fund for Justice, Inc began, so any contributions made to the organization after that date are tax-deductible to the greatest extent allowable by law.
How the NAPD Fund for Justice intends to put your money to work
Nationally, the NAPD Fund for Justice seeks to fund technical assistance to local defender programs on issues such as reducing workloads, obtaining education for staff, procuring resources, offering scholarship opportunities for leadership and skills programs, and providing student loan repayment assistance. The NAPD Fund for Justice plans to conduct activities such as the following:
Provide scholarships to persons working for public defense agencies and doing public defense conflict work to criminal justice training programs focusing on such areas as follows:
• Defender leadership
• Criminal justice policy and budget advocacy
• Investigator skills
• Social worker-mitigations skills
• Sentencing advocacy
• Appellate advocacy
• Forensic advocacy
• Workload advocacy and similar programs
• Pretrial policies and release advocacy
• Reduce racial discrimination in the criminal justice system
• Reduce overincarceration
These programs are conducted by NAPD, NACDL, NLADA, Equitas and other organizations throughout the year at various times.
Provide individualized technical assistance and consultation to local public defense programs on
• Selection of a chief defender
• Public defense program assessments
• Local education programs for public defenders
• Communication on criminal justice public policy and defender budgets
This assistance will be provided upon a request by a local program and a determination it meets the criteria for assistance.
Provide funding for the collection and maintenance of public defense information including:
• Litigation aids, motions, briefs, case analysis
• Materials to advance the representation of juveniles, persons with mental illness or suffering from substance abuse, capital clients
• Leadership materials
• Webinar and education materials
Provide student loan repayment assistance to persons doing public defense work on condition of their continuing work for a public defense program
• When funds are sufficient, the NAPD Fund for Justice will set criteria for distributing funds based on the merit of applications
Why funding these activities will make a difference for clients
These activities further the NAPD Fund for Justice’s charitable purposes by equipping overworked and underpaid public defenders and conflict attorneys with more knowledge that is accessible to them through in-person education or through electronic means that will increase their ability and capacity to provide quality representation to clients, increase funding to reduce caseloads and reduce student loans to retain them longer, and by providing local assistance to strengthen programs that will enhance the right to counsel and implementation of the individual guarantees in our Bill of Rights.