Catalyst Grant Program

Racism and racial biases are deeply embedded in the criminal legal system, leading to disproportionate harm to communities of color. Even brief incarceration carries significant costs to individuals, families, and communities.  By improving access to relevant data and technology, communities can have additional tools to inform and improve policy and practices to make the criminal legal system more equitable.   

The Urban Institute and the Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative are collaborating on the Catalyst Grant Program to help organizations use data and technology to advance racial equity and reform at the front end of the criminal legal system.

Responses to the most recent Request for Proposals were due on December 2, 2022. The FAQs from this round are also available for reference. Applicants will be notified of our decisions by the end of April 2023. For more information about the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 grantees, see Urban Institute program website.  

To sign up to receive announcements about future rounds of the Catalyst Grant Program and related future funding opportunities from Microsoft or others, please sign up through this form.