Felony Murder Elimination Project wishes to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Vital Projects Fund.
Established in 1992 and funded in 2006, Vital Projects Fund was created from the estate of stockbroker Horace W. Goldsmith and the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation. Led by President David F. Menschel, a Yale Law School graduate and former attorney at the Innocence Project, the fund manages over $355 million in assets and consistently disburses around $14-16 million annually through approximately 132 grants. The foundation is particularly known for its support of criminal justice reform and death penalty abolition efforts, alongside significant funding for arts and culture, education, health, human services, and international development. As David Menschel has stated, “We oppose the death penalty and give grants to help end it.”
Our organization was awarded $75,000 from the Vital Projects Fund for general operating support for the next year. The Vital Projects Fund’s ongoing partnership with FMEP has funded both the 2024 and 2026 National Convening to End Felony Murder. This convening brought together advocates, directly impacted people, family members, organizers, attorneys, researchers, and community leaders from across the United States who are working to challenge felony murder laws in their states.
Our Founder and Executive Director Joanne Scheer offered her gratitude for the ongoing partnership between Felony Murder Elimination Project and the Vital Projects Fund.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone at the Vital Projects Fund for your continued partnership with the Felony Murder Elimination Project. Your generous and unwavering support enables us to advance our efforts toward fairer, more equitable laws, expand pathways to sentencing relief, and create meaningful opportunities for people serving unjust and excessive sentences to come home. We are deeply grateful for the trust you place in our work and for your commitment to standing alongside incarcerated people, their families, and communities throughout California as we work toward shared goals of criminal justice policy and parole/sentencing reforms. Your investment gives us greater capacity to pursue lasting systemic change while bringing hope and renewed possibility to those who have endured years of waiting for justice. We are honored to have the Vital Projects Fund as a partner in this important work and sincerely appreciate your confidence, generosity, and shared commitment to a more just future. We look forward to continuing this partnership and sharing the meaningful impact of your support in the years ahead.
With humble and heartfelt gratitude,
Joanne Scheer
Executive Director
Felony Murder Elimination Project
The fund operates through trustee-directed grantmaking rather than formal grant programs with published guidelines. Grants typically range from $25,000 to $150,000, though awards can be as low as $10,000 or as high as $2.7 million for priority initiatives. The foundation notes these programming areas as priorities in criminal justice reform:
- Death penalty abolition (primary focus)
- Criminal justice policy reform
- Mass incarceration issues
- Parole and sentencing reform
- Civil rights and legal advocacy
The Vital Projects Fund also awards organizations working in the areas of performing arts and cultural institutions, health initiatives, educational access and equity, human and social services organizations, and international humanitarian efforts.
