Common Justice
Common Justice is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that runs the first U.S. alternative-to-incarceration program for adult violent felonies using restorative justice circles, while delivering victim services to survivors of violence — particularly young men of color — and advocating for victim compensation reform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Common Justice does
Common Justice is a Brooklyn-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 that operates as a demonstration project of the Vera Institute of Justice. The organization develops and advances alternatives to incarceration for serious violent crime while delivering victim services, primarily serving young people aged 16–24 who have caused harm and survivors of violence, with a particular focus on young men of color (70% of victims served and 90% of harmed parties are people of color). Its core service is a restorative justice diversion program that uses a circle-based accountability process in adult Brooklyn courts, reporting a 100% agreement rate across completed circles, alongside direct victim services, trauma support, and victim compensation advocacy.
The organization's product portfolio combines direct service with policy advocacy and intellectual infrastructure. Operational products include the Alternative-to-Incarceration Program and Victim Services, the HealingWorks Learning Collaborative (a peer network and online resource center launched in 2017 for organizations working with young men of color harmed by trauma), and the Fair Access to Victim Compensation (FAVC) Campaign. Research and curriculum products include the Hope After Harm State Victim Compensation Statute Rubric (a 50-state plus DC and Puerto Rico statutory evaluation published in 2025 with the Center for American Progress), the Reclaiming Narrative Power curriculum, the Ethical Storytelling for Grassroots Change guide, the 5 Directions Guide, and various narrative-change reports.
Common Justice's business model is a multi-stream nonprofit funding structure with no fee-for-service revenue. Funding comes from individual donations, foundation grants (Open Society Foundations as founding underwriter, The Joyce Foundation as presenting underwriter, Ford Foundation and Annie E. Casey Foundation as supporting underwriters, and the Langeloth Foundation), and government grants and contracts including federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding and New York State budget allocations. Distribution is regional (Brooklyn, NY) for direct services and national for policy advocacy, training, and freely distributed research and curriculum products.
Common Justice firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Common Justice
- Legal name
- Common Justice
- Website
- https://commonjustice.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Common Justice is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that runs the first U.S. alternative-to-incarceration program for adult violent felonies using restorative justice circles, while delivering victim services to survivors of violence — particularly young men of color — and advocating for victim compensation reform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Common Justice industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Restorative Justice and Victim Services
- NAICS
- Human Rights Organizations (813311), Parole Offices and Probation Offices (92215)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Alternative Dispute Resolution & Restorative Justice Programs (BPAIAFAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry) (BPAIAFAE), Criminal Justice Reform & Legal System Advocacy (BPAGAFAI)
Keywords
Where Common Justice is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Common Justice business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Charitable Contributions: Common Justice relies on donations from individuals and organizations to sustain their work developing and advancing solutions to violence. The organization maintains membership programs and encourages public support through their donate page.
- Government Grants and Contracts: The organization receives government funding including support for victim services and gun violence prevention efforts. They have received federal VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) funding and New York State budget allocations.
- Foundation Support: Common Justice is supported by foundations including the Langeloth Foundation and operates as a Vera Institute of Justice demonstration project with foundation backing.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels9 records
Common Justice product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Common Justice develops and advances solutions to violence without relying on incarceration. It operates an alternative-to-incarceration program for young people aged 16-24 who commit violent felonies using restorative justice circles, and provides survivor-centered victim services focused on people of color harmed by violence. The organization also runs the HealingWorks Learning Collaborative, advocacy campaigns for victim compensation reform, and produces research and curriculums on narrative change and restorative justice.
Product overview
Common Justice is a nonprofit organization that develops and advances solutions to violence without relying on incarceration. Its core offerings include an alternative-to-incarceration program for young people aged 16-24 who commit violent felonies (using restorative justice principles) and victim services focused on survivors of violence, particularly young men of color. The organization also operates the HealingWorks Learning Collaborative, a network providing resources to organizations serving young men of color harmed by violence. Through the Fair Access to Victim Compensation (FAVC) Campaign, Common Justice advocates for policy reform in New York State. Additional offerings include research tools (such as the Hope After Harm State Victim Compensation Statute Rubric), narrative change curriculums (Reclaiming Narrative Power, Ethical Storytelling for Grassroots Change), mental health resources (5 Directions Guide), and community organizing initiatives (Communities for Safety Collective). The organization also publishes reports, podcasts, and educational materials to advance its mission of transforming responses to violence and fostering racial equity.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- HealingWorks: A project of Common Justice - a learning collaborative for organizations working with young men of color who have been harmed by trauma and violence, featuring an online resource center.
Products and services
- Alternative-to-Incarceration Program Restorative justice program working with young people aged 16-24 who commit violent felonies and those they harm, providing accountability through circle-based processes as an alternative to incarceration.
- Victim Services Survivor-centered services for people harmed by violence including support, resources, and advocacy for accessing victim compensation, with particular focus on young men of color.
- HealingWorks Learning Collaborative A network and learning collaborative providing tools, resources, frameworks, and community-building support for organizations working with young men of color who have been harmed by trauma and violence.
- Fair Access to Victim Compensation (FAVC) Campaign Coalition-led advocacy campaign to reform New York State's victim compensation system and remove barriers rooted in bias and bureaucracy to ensure equitable access for Black, Brown, and low-income survivors.
- Hope After Harm: State Victim Compensation Statute Rubric A comprehensive rubric evaluating victim compensation statutes across all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico, analyzing awareness, accessibility, adequate compensation, eligibility barriers, and process experience.
- Partnerships and Training Training and technical assistance for organizations seeking to develop or enhance responses to violence using restorative justice principles.
- Civic Engagement and Communities for Safety Collective Community organizing and civic engagement initiatives that build power with affected communities to advance safety solutions without relying on incarceration.
Quantifiable outcome
- 90% of harmed parties served are people of color
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Common Justice
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Common Justice technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Common Justice partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Center for American Progress (CAP)coreCollaboration on the Hope After Harm project - a comprehensive evaluation of state victim compensation statutes across all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The project includes a State Victim Compensation Statute Rubric analyzing statutes on awareness, accessibility, compensation adequacy, eligibility barriers, and process experience.
- Vera Institute of JusticecoreCommon Justice operates as a Vera Institute of Justice demonstration project. The Vera Institute provides institutional support, funding, and operational infrastructure for Common Justice's alternative-to-incarceration and victim service programs.
- Safe HorizonmajorPartner organization in the Fair Access to Victim Compensation (FAVC) Campaign advocating for reforms to New York State's victim compensation system to remove barriers for Black, Brown, and low-income survivors.
- GiffordsmajorPartner organization in the Fair Access to Victim Compensation (FAVC) Campaign working to ensure equitable access to victim compensation for all survivors.
- Not Another ChildmajorPartner organization in the Fair Access to Victim Compensation (FAVC) Campaign advocating for survivor rights and victim compensation reform.
- HealingWorks Learning Collaborative MembersmajorOrganizations including Healing4Our Families and Our Nation, Healing Brothers, and the Precedential Group participate in the HealingWorks Learning Collaborative - a community of practice for organizations working with young men of color harmed by violence.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Common Justice competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- JustLeadershipUSA: Led by directly impacted people to cut the US prison population in half, with a strong focus on community organizing and advocacy. Overlaps with Common Justice's Communities for Safety Collective and policy work.
Direct peers
- Center for Community Alternatives: Provides community-based alternatives to incarceration and reentry support, including youth and adult court advocacy services. Alice Hamblett, Common Justice's Senior Policy Manager, previously led Court Advocacy there.
- Vera Institute of Justice: Common Justice's parent organization and the operator of the demonstration project. Vera runs a portfolio of criminal justice reform initiatives including alternative-to-incarceration programs, directly overlapping with Common Justice's core mission.
- The Fortune Society: New York-based nonprofit providing alternatives to incarceration, reentry services, and advocacy for people with criminal justice involvement. Operates a comparable service-and-advocacy model.
- Center for Court Innovation: Operates problem-solving courts and community-based justice programs in New York, including adult diversion and restorative justice initiatives. Highly comparable mission of testing court-based alternatives to incarceration.
- Roca: Massachusetts-based nonprofit running high-intensity violence intervention programming for young people at highest risk, including young men of color. Operates a similar restorative, behavior-change-focused model in the same demographic.
- Safe Horizon: New York's largest victim services organization and Common Justice's FAVC Campaign partner. Operates comparable victim services and compensation advocacy for survivors of violence, with broader service lines.
Regional players
- Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia: Provides victim services, crisis response, and violence prevention in the Philadelphia region. Comparable survivor-centered victim services model, though operates in a different metro area from Common Justice's Brooklyn base.
Broad incumbents
- National Council on Crime and Delinquency: National research and advocacy organization advancing racial and economic justice in the criminal legal system. Operates at broader policy and research scale than Common Justice but shares the criminal justice reform mission.
- Brennan Center for Justice: National law and policy institute working on criminal justice reform, including alternatives to incarceration and victim compensation policy. Comparable advocacy orientation with significantly broader scope.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Common Justice social profiles
Digital presenceCommon Justice financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Common Justice leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Common Justice subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Common Justice funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Common Justice M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Common Justice
What does Common Justice do?
Common Justice develops and advances solutions to violence without relying on incarceration. It operates an alternative-to-incarceration program for young people aged 16-24 who commit violent felonies using restorative justice circles, and provides survivor-centered victim services focused on people of color harmed by violence. The organization also runs the HealingWorks Learning Collaborative, advocacy campaigns for victim compensation reform, and produces research and curriculums on narrative change and restorative justice.
Is Common Justice a public or private company?
Common Justice is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Common Justice founded?
Common Justice was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Common Justice based?
Common Justice is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Common Justice make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Charitable Contributions are the primary driver. The others are government Grants and Contracts and foundation Support.
Who are Common Justice's main competitors?
JustLeadershipUSA is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Center for Community Alternatives, Vera Institute of Justice, The Fortune Society, Center for Court Innovation, Roca and Safe Horizon. Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are National Council on Crime and Delinquency and Brennan Center for Justice.
Does Common Justice have an API?
No public API is recorded for Common Justice.
What industry is Common Justice in?
Common Justice's product category is Restorative Justice and Victim Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIAFAL, Alternative Dispute Resolution & Restorative Justice Programs, with a secondary code of BPAIAFAE, Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry). Its NAICS code is 813311 and its SIC code is 8300.