Dream.Org Announces Justice Innovation Prize Finalists
MEDIA CONTACT
Rachael Payton - Director of Communications
rachael.payton@dream.org
Five entrepreneurs will pitch their innovative ideas to disrupt the prison industry, end mass incarceration, and compete for their share of $1 million dollars.
Oakland, Calif. - September 7, 2023- Dream.Org is excited to announce the five Justice Innovation Prize finalists who will present their innovative ideas to disrupt the prison industry and end mass incarceration through education, rehabilitation, job support, and other critical tech-based resources to reduce recidivism. In October, three winners will be selected for a final $250k cash prize to scale their programs.
The five finalists will present their programs in front of an esteemed selection committee and a live audience at SOCAP23, the largest social impact investing conference taking place in San Francisco on October 23-25. All five winners received a $50k grant to prepare for their presentation and will receive a pro bono session with Stanford University to learn about human-centered program design.
The finalists are:
- FreeCap Financial, Inc. - Washington, D.C. - a justice-oriented data company that is increasing corporate accountability and transparency for investors who are against supporting companies that directly or indirectly contribute to mass incarceration.
- Creative Acts - Inglewood, CA - an organization transforming urgent social justice issues through the arts to heal trauma and build community for those who are or have been incarcerated
- JusticeText - Irvine, CA - an audiovisual evidence management software that generates automated transcripts of body camera footage, interrogation videos, jail calls, and more
- Unlocked Labs - St. Louis, MO - a tech startup that designs learning management systems for people in prison
- Just Income GNV - Gainesville, FL - an organization that provides guaranteed monthly income to people who have been impacted by the justice system to reduce recidivism
“Instead of wasting more money and lives on an archaic prison system that sees 77% of formerly incarcerated people return within five years, we’re looking to leverage the power of emerging technologies and venture capital to disrupt this system, ushering in different models that are focused on better outcomes,” said Dream.Org National Justice Director Janos Marton. “Our Justice Innovation finalists that are radically transforming the criminal justice system are women, people of color, transgendered, and formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs. These are the people that are the most overlooked. They are the closest to the issues and the closest to solutions. At Dream.Org, we are ready to invest in them.”
In January 2023, Dream.Org received a $1 million grant to help identify, promote, and support innovative approaches to disrupting the prison industry called the Justice Innovation Prize. This money will be divided among the winning finalists at SOCAP23.
The Justice Innovation Prize Pitch competition is free and open to the public. Register here to attend. We invite and encourage you to join us for the full three-day SOCAP23 conference! Register with our exclusive discount code s23_dream to save $250 on your ticket! Learn more and register for SOCAP23 here.
To learn more about the Justice Innovation Prize, visit here.
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ABOUT DREAM.ORG
Dream.Org is a bipartisan effort to transform justice across the country. We bring together leaders impacted by the criminal justice system with unlikely allies spanning the political divide to push for criminal justice solutions. Learn more at Dream.Org.
