Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth

What Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth does

Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (also referenced in the source material as the Restorative Justice Exchange, an initiative of Prison Fellowship International) is a faith-based nonprofit that develops and disseminates restorative justice programs for prisoners, victims of crime, and families of the incarcerated. Its core offerings include the Sycamore Tree Project® (a registered, eight-session prisoner-victim encounter program), The Prisoner's Journey (a Gospel-of-Mark discipleship program), The Child's Journey and PromisePath (children-and-family support), and Communities of Restoration (based on the APAC methodology developed by Prison Fellowship Brazil in 1972). It also publishes a Restorative Justice Handbook and maintains the RJE Archive, a free searchable library of theory, case studies, and Bible-study resources for practitioners.

The organization operates through a federated model: indigenous, autonomous National Ministries in more than 100 countries deliver programs in culturally appropriate ways, supported by approximately 46,000 local volunteers drawn primarily from church communities. Its revenue model is donation-driven through the Prison Fellowship International donor portal, with no paid pricing tiers; all resources are distributed without charge to partners and practitioners. Geographic reach spans Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

The organization was founded in 1996 (as the Centre for Justice and Reconciliation), building on Prison Fellowship International, which was established in 1979 following Chuck Colson's 1976 founding of Prison Fellowship in the United States. It played a leading role in the seven-year advocacy effort that resulted in the 2002 adoption by the UN Economic and Social Council of the Declaration of Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programmes, and reports cumulative outcomes including more than 53,000 Sycamore Tree Project graduates and more than 5,000 victim participants.

Name

Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth

Legal name

Restorative Justice Exchange

Website

https://restorativejustice.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Faith-based nonprofit initiative of Prison Fellowship International that develops restorative justice programs — including the Sycamore Tree Project — for prisoners, victims, and families, delivered through National Ministries in 100+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restorative Justice Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Parole Offices and Probation Offices (922150)

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), Reentry & Justice-Involved Support Services (BPAGAEAN), Victim Services & Witness Assistance (Justice System) (BPAIAFAJ), Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

Keywords

• Restorative justice programs
• Prison rehabilitation services
• Victim-offender mediation
• Criminal justice reform
• Faith-based ministry

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a nonprofit initiative of Prison Fellowship International, the organization relies on donations to fund its restorative justice programs, resource development, and network support for partners in 100+ countries.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth operates as a nonprofit initiative that designs, develops, and disseminates restorative justice programs for prisoners, victims of crime, and families of the incarcerated. Core offerings include the Sycamore Tree Project® (prisoner-victim encounter program), The Prisoner's Journey, The Child's Journey, PromisePath, Communities of Restoration (APAC methodology), and educational resources such as the Restorative Justice Handbook. Programs are delivered free of charge through a network of National Ministries in more than 100 countries.

Product overview

The Restorative Justice Exchange (RJE) is an initiative of Prison Fellowship International offering a portfolio of restorative justice programs and educational resources. The core programs include The Sycamore Tree Project® (prisoner-victim encounters), The Prisoner's Journey (spiritual transformation through Bible study), The Child's Journey (support for children of incarcerated parents), and PromisePath (family support). These are complemented by an extensive resource library including the Restorative Justice Handbook, Bible study materials, research papers, and the RJE Archive containing thousands of categorized resources for practitioners worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sycamore Tree Project: Prison fellowship program where prisoners and unrelated victims meet to discuss crime, its impact, and how to repair harm through 8 small group sessions studying the Book of Luke.
• The Prisoner's Journey (TPJ)
• The Child's Journey (TCJ)
• PromisePath
• Communities of Restoration

Products and services

• Sycamore Tree Project® (STP) An 8-session small group program where prisoners and unrelated victims meet in facilitated encounters to discuss crime, its impact, and how to repair harm, while studying the Book of Luke. Targets prisoners and victims of crime served by partner prison systems in 9 countries.
• The Prisoner's Journey (TPJ)

Quantifiable outcome

• 53,000+ prisoners graduated from Sycamore Tree Project; 5,000+ victims participated; 9 countries currently active
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Prison Fellowship International (PFI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1979The Restorative Justice Exchange is an initiative of Prison Fellowship International. PFI is the world's largest network of Christian ministries working in the criminal justice field, operating in more than 100 countries through multi-denominational, indigenous and autonomous National Ministries. PFI supports RJE's mission to advance restorative justice principles and practices.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPFI worked directly with the United Nations for more than seven years (1995-2002), serving members of the UN NGO Alliance on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. PFI led a working group that drafted and advocated for the UN Declaration of Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programmes, which was adopted by UN ECOSOC in 2002.
• APAC (Association for Protection and Assistance of the Condemned)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPAC is a Brazilian prison reform methodology developed in 1972 by Prison Fellowship Brazil. PFI conducted multi-year research in the late 1990s to expand this program to other countries. Currently 45 APAC prisons in Brazil and 10 Prison Fellowship affiliates outside Brazil run APAC-based Communities of Restoration.
• National Ministries (100+ Countries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-denominational, indigenous and autonomous National Ministries serve as chartered affiliates delivering restorative justice programs in culturally relevant ways. PFI supports these partners through program partnerships, strategic funding, leadership training, and services focused on building capacity to enhance restorative justice and deepen impact.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Prison Fellowship: The US national counterpart and originating organization of the broader Prison Fellowship network. Operates InnerChange Freedom Initiative and other faith-based prisoner reentry programs, directly comparable in mission, methodology, and faith-based positioning to RJE's prisoner-focused programs.
• The Forgiveness Project: UK-based nonprofit that uses real stories of victims and offenders to explore forgiveness and restorative approaches to crime. Operates the Restorative Pathways program in prisons with comparable victim-offender dialogue methodology, though smaller in geographic reach than RJE.
• Kairos Prison Ministry International: A faith-based nonprofit running short-term, intensive prison retreat programs (Kairos Inside) and aftercare (Kairos Outside) for families of incarcerated individuals in 30+ US states and internationally. Directly comparable volunteer-driven, multi-week encounter methodology targeting the same prisoner and family-of-prisoner segments as RJE.
• Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) — Offender Reentry Programs: Faith-based relief and development agency that runs prison visitation and reentry support programs across the Americas and globally through volunteer networks. Comparable faith-rooted prisoner support and family reintegration mission to RJE's National Ministry delivery model.
• Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR) / Restore NYC: Community-based reentry nonprofit operating across multiple US states, providing direct post-release support services to returning citizens. Directly comparable to RJE's reentry support and family-focused programming but at a regional rather than international scale.
• International Centre for Restorative Practices (ICRP): Global organization promoting restorative practices across criminal justice, education, and workplace settings. Closely aligned with RJE's restorative justice philosophy and global dissemination model, though operates with a broader secular scope rather than faith-based programming.

Emerging players

• National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards (NACVCB): Membership organization supporting state victim compensation programs and broader victim services. Comparable in its victim-services focus to RJE's Sycamore Tree victim-engagement work, but operates as a government-affiliated funding intermediary rather than direct service provider.
• APAC (Associação de Proteção e Assistência aos Condenados): Brazilian NGO that originated the Communities of Restoration methodology RJE has adopted and scaled. Operates 45+ prisons in Brazil with an innovative rehabilitation-focused model; closely tied to RJE as the methodology source but operates as a distinct regional specialist organization.

Broad incumbents

• Centre for Court Innovation: US-based nonprofit that designs and operates court-based programs including restorative justice initiatives in problem-solving courts. A broader incumbent in the criminal justice reform space with overlapping RJ expertise but operating from a court-system (rather than faith-based) vantage point.

Others

• Church of the Brethren — Office of Peacebuilding and Policy: Faith-based peace and justice organization that has historically led victim-offender reconciliation programs (the precursor to modern restorative justice) through its network. Adjacent and ecosystem-relevant as a pioneering organization that established the mediation-based RJ category RJE now operates in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth