The Just Trust

What The Just Trust does

The Just Trust is a private nonprofit philanthropic organization founded in 2021 and headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. It operates through two legal entities—The Just Trust for Education (a 501(c)(3) public charity) and The Just Trust for Action (a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization)—that together function as an "opportunity accelerator" curating and deploying donor investments into the U.S. criminal justice reform ecosystem. The organization was founded by Ana Zamora with an initial $350 million, five-year commitment from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and within its first 18 months its partners had engaged with over 230 pieces of legislation and narrative campaigns across 39 states.

The Just Trust's product surface spans grantmaking programs, a messaging-research platform, and public-education campaigns. Core offerings include the Safer Communities Accelerator (launched December 2022), the State By State funding initiative targeting advocacy infrastructure in all 50 states, Element Labs (a messaging research and mindset-data tool supporting narrative change across the field), and the You've Got Options public-education campaign. In 2025, the organization spun off JUMP as an independent entity after a yearlong incubation. The organization also partners with peer donors and foundations to coordinate pooled funds.

The business model is relationship-driven philanthropic grantmaking: the organization does not sell products or services and grantmaking is invitation-only. Its go-to-market relies on a bench of donors and partners coordinated by a Director of Development, with field-building and narrative-change work amplified through social media, annual reports, and the Element Labs platform. Customer concentration is anchored upstream by the CZI commitment, while downstream grantmaking is distributed across hundreds of vetted state and national advocacy organizations.

Name

The Just Trust

Legal name

The Just Trust for Action and The Just Trust for Education

Website

https://thejusttrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Just Trust is a nonprofit philanthropic venture that curates and deploys donor capital into U.S. criminal justice reform through grantmaking, narrative-change research, and program accelerators serving state and national advocacy organizations across 39+ states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Criminal Justice Reform Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Criminal Justice Reform & Legal System Advocacy (BPAGAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Criminal justice reform
• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Nonprofit advocacy funding
• Narrative change research
• Community safety programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Asheville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Donations & Grants: The organization receives large-scale philanthropic funding from donors and foundations. The flagship funding is a $350 million, five-year commitment from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The organization pools donor dollars and deploys them as grants to justice reform organizations across the country.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Just Trust is a nonprofit philanthropic organization that curates and deploys pooled donor investments to advance criminal justice reform across the United States. It operates two legal entities (a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4)) that provide multi-year general operating grants, project support, narrative and messaging research through Element Labs, and innovation programs such as the Safer Communities Accelerator to vetted justice reform advocacy organizations.

Product overview

The Just Trust is a philanthropic organization that operates as an opportunity accelerator for justice reform, comprising two entities: The Just Trust for Education (501(c)(3)) and The Just Trust for Action (501(c)(4)). The organization curates and deploys investments from a diverse bench of donors to fund criminal justice reform efforts across the United States. Its core offerings include grantmaking programs (Safer Communities Accelerator, State By State initiative), the Element Labs platform for messaging research and public opinion tools, the You've Got Options Campaign for public education, and the recently spun-off independent organization JUMP. The organization focuses on advocacy infrastructure, community safety solutions, partnership coordination, campaign moments, media and narrative projects, and rapid response initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Safer Communities Accelerator: A program supporting organizations advancing innovative models for preventing crime, repairing harm, and building stronger, safer communities.
• Element Labs
• JUMP
• State By State
• You've Got Options

Products and services

• Element Labs A messaging research, mindset data, and tools platform that supports advocates and practitioners in reshaping public opinion on criminal justice reform by bridging the gap between understanding public beliefs and implementing effective communications strategies.
• Safer Communities Accelerator A funded program supporting organizations that advance innovative models for preventing crime, repairing harm, and building safer communities.
• State By State A funding initiative providing sustained, flexible capital to state-based criminal justice reform advocacy organizations to build advocacy infrastructure across all 50 U.S. states.
• You've Got Options Campaign A public education campaign featuring video content that showcases different and more effective solutions for preventing crime and meeting people where they are.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 230 pieces of legislation and narrative campaigns impacted in 39 states in first 18 months
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Field Advisors (2021)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly field advisors who co-created The Just Trust's theory of change, contributing to the strategic framework for the organization's justice reform work.
• IDEO.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal non-profit design agency that collaborated on The Just Trust's community engagement strategy, brand strategy, identity system, and website development. IDEO.org is dedicated to building products and services alongside organizations committed to creating a more just and inclusive world.
• Sovereign ObjectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative collective that designs brands and systems which elevate the arts and sciences in culture, promote healthy ecosystems, and redistribute power and prosperity to those with less. Contributed to The Just Trust's branding and creative work.
• Some DayscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative studio focused on ideas, brands and experiences that are distinct and enduring. Contributed to The Just Trust's creative and brand development.
• MillisupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAward-winning independent creative agency established in 2014 focused on social, content creative, and strategy working at the intersection of culture, technology, and social good. Contributed to The Just Trust's brand fonts (Monument Grotesk and Monument Grotesk Mono by Dinamo Type).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Brennan Center for Justice: National criminal justice policy and advocacy organization that combines research, litigation support, and narrative work — closely paralleling The Just Trust's blended grantmaking, research (via Element Labs), and advocacy strategy.
• Public Welfare Foundation: Philanthropy focused specifically on criminal justice and youth justice reform, funding state and local advocacy — directly comparable in mission focus and grantmaking approach.
• Council on Criminal Justice: Nonpartisan criminal justice policy organization producing research and convening stakeholders across the ideological spectrum, mirroring The Just Trust's bipartisan coalition approach and evidence-based reform strategy.
• Arnold Ventures: Large-scale philanthropic funder that operates a substantial criminal justice portfolio alongside other policy domains, making grants and investing in research and advocacy organizations comparable to The Just Trust's grantmaking-and-advising model.
• Vera Institute of Justice: Long-standing criminal justice research and advocacy organization that partners with state and local jurisdictions on reform — comparable in operating model and target ecosystem to The Just Trust's state-based advocacy work.

Broad incumbents

• Ford Foundation (Criminal Justice portfolio): Large national foundation that funds criminal justice reform alongside a broad social-justice portfolio — comparable as a major philanthropic funder in the same advocacy space, though not specialized to criminal justice.
• MacArthur Foundation (Safety and Justice Challenge): Major national foundation running a multi-city criminal justice initiative, comparable in grantmaking scale and systems-reform focus, though operating across a much broader philanthropic portfolio.
• Open Society Foundations (U.S. Criminal Justice Fund): Global philanthropic foundation with a significant U.S. criminal justice reform portfolio, comparable in scale of grantmaking and advocacy funding though operating as a much larger, multi-issue institution.
• Pew Charitable Trusts (Public Safety Performance Project): Major research and policy funder working on sentencing and corrections reform across states, comparable in policy research and state-level reform orientation though part of a larger multi-issue foundation.

Others

• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: Primary funder of The Just Trust and a peer as a major philanthropic venture operating in social justice and advocacy — listed here for ecosystem relevance rather than direct operational overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thejusttrust
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheJustTrust
• Instagraminstagram.com/thejusttrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thejusttrust

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Just Trust