The Bail Project

Alfredo had a successful career as a chef—he cooked for NASA astronauts and managed prestigious kitchens. Until one day, a traffic stop turned his life upside down when an expired car registration led to his arrest. Inside the Jacksonville detention facility, Alfredo wasn’t given the chance to meet with his public defender. A judge set his bail at $5,000, keeping Alfredo separated from his elderly mother with dementia. Alfredo spent his time supporting others by coordinating calls, translating legal documents, and advocating for their rights to be protected. Alfredo was incarcerated for nearly a month without a conviction, and his charges were eventually dismissed. This experience made it difficult to find his way back to the kitchen. But thanks to The Bail Project, Operation New Hope’s Ready4Work program, and his community, Alfredo was able to jumpstart his career and start working as a chef again, and doing what he loves – sharing his passion for cooking. To thank this community, Alfredo wanted to share a taste of that purpose with all of us in his new recipe, Resilience Romano. 🍝 Save this recipe for your next dinner and let us know how it came out!

Our 2025 Annual Report is here! In the last year, we’ve achieved incredible things together, and we’re excited to share them with you in our 2025 Annual Report. Thanks to supporters like you, The Bail Project has served over 40,000 people trapped by an unjust pretrial system. Thank you for making 2025 impactful! Together we’re working to end a two-tiered cash bail system and create a more humane pretrial system that protects the rights and safety of every person. Read the report at bailproject.org/2025annualrepo…

In his latest book, Legal Plunder, Dr. Joshua Page, a professor of sociology and law, shines a light on how the criminal justice system extracts wealth from poor communities, enriching both government agencies and private corporations. In an interview with The Bail Project, Dr. Page highlights the profound financial and emotional burden the bail industry places on families, especially women of color. bailproject.org/learn/cash-bai…

Noel was trapped behind bars for over a year because of a $50,000 bond. He lost his job and certifications as a peer specialist and addiction recovery empowerment specialist. Once The Bail Project stepped in to secure his release, Noel could work closely with his lawyer and medical team to find stability again. Today, Noel works at a group home for people with mental health and substance use disorders. This is why your support now is critical. The Bail Project offers immediate relief through our free bailouts and pretrial supportive services, but we need our generous community to make it happen. A donation today will help more people like Noel this holiday season. Head to bailproject.org/give2025 to make a difference today!

Over the weekend, our Chief Executive Officer, David Gaspar joined a panel at Yale Law School's Justice Collaboratory to discuss his essay, “Freedom Should Be Free: The Case for Bail Funds as Mutual Aid,” featured in Yale Law School's Justice Collaboratory’s annual publication, The Notebook. This essay offers a powerful case for why charitable bail funds are among the clearest expressions of mutual aid in America today. The fight to eliminate wealth-based detention isn’t just about policy. It’s about preserving the dignity of individuals and the safety of communities, and it’s about the simple conviction that freedom should be free. Read the full essay here! bailproject.org/learn/the-bail…

We’re teaming up with @armaniblanco for #GivingTuesday because freedom can’t wait. The Bail Project is celebrating serving 40,000 clients, but thousands more need us right now. To keep this work going, we’re raising $40,000 by midnight. Your gift today helps reunite families before the holidays and offers critical support to our clients. Donate by midnight at bailproject.org/givingtuesday to make an impact.

Every day, thousands of people are trapped in jail pretrial—not because they’ve been convicted of a crime, but because they can’t afford bail. Together, we can change that. This #GivingTuesday, join us in fighting for freedom with a gift to The Bail Project. Will you help us reach our goal of raising $40,000 by midnight? Go to bailproject.org/givingtuesday to make a difference today!

This #GivingTuesday, your donation helps thousands of Bail Project clients regain their freedom and dignity. Over the years, the Bail Project community has come together to secure freedom and provide critical pretrial services to over 40,000 individuals. Join us this Giving Tuesday and help someone home for the holidays. Head to bailproject.org/givingtuesday to make a difference today!

Give the gift of freedom this #GivingTuesday! Donations to The Bail Project support thousands of people nationwide through free bail assistance and connections to services like rides to court and court reminders. Can we count on your support this Giving Tuesday? Link in bio to make an impact today!

We’re proud to announce that our Real Bail Reform campaign has received a Silver award in the 5th Annual Anthem Awards! This campaign gave real Americans a platform to speak for themselves, and the results reflect the true meaning of bail reform: a safer, fairer, more effective system based on safety, not wealth. We asked, “If you could say anything about bail reform on a billboard, what would it be?” More than 1,000 people responded, and their words illuminated how cash bail shapes lives and communities. bailproject.org/press/the-bail…

#GivingTuesday is just around the corner! With your donations, The Bail Project will support thousands of people nationwide through free bail assistance and connections to services like rides to court and court reminders. The Bail Project has served over 40,000 people, and with your help, we can serve thousands more. To celebrate this incredible milestone, we’re hoping to raise $40,000 this Giving Tuesday. Can we count on your support with a donation today? Visit bailproject.org/givingtuesday2… to make an impact!

When a fight with her children’s father escalated, Jordan was caught in a dire situation. Unable to afford her $5,000 bail, she was held in jail and separated from her two young children for five weeks. It was her first time in custody, and she was disoriented. But the distance from her children cut the deepest. Their father had them during her detention but refused her calls. Only when her mother briefly took the kids did Jordan hear their voices. “I just started breaking down crying,” she said. bailproject.org/stories/one-ar…

Jail is not housing. And homelessness is not a crime. Each year, approximately 205,000 people experiencing homelessness are booked into jails. Not because they are dangerous, but because poverty is being criminalized. Laws across the country ban the activities that people experiencing homelessness engage in simply to exist or survive, such as loitering, panhandling, camping, lying in public, or living in vehicles. Incarceration can be uniquely destabilizing for a person without stable housing. And many people, like our client Ashley, lose their homes while in jail pretrial, leading them to experience homelessness upon their release. At The Bail Project, we provide clients – housed and unhoused – with the support they need to stabilize their lives and navigate the pretrial process. Read our client stories and learn more at bailproject.org. #NationalHomelessnessAwarenessMonth

Though violent crime in D.C. has dropped to 30-year lows, the federal government is advancing legislation to reinstate cash bail. And the results could be catastrophic. The current system in D.C. proves that ending cash bail works: 92% of people have stayed arrest-free, 87% have shown up to court, and only 1% have been rearrested for a violent offense. The data show that the government’s push to reinstate cash bail isn’t about public safety. As Hannah Milem, a staff attorney at a consumer-law nonprofit Tzedek DC, puts it, “It’s a huge attack on D.C. residents and on Home Rule.” bailproject.org/learn/the-figh…

Today, The Bail Project turns 8! 🎉🎂 And, we're celebrating eight years of meaningful impact. Together, The Bail Project and our dedicated community have bailed out over 39,000 people, posted $104 million in cash bail, and supported our clients with a 92% court appearance rate. Each bailout over the last eight years is proof that cash bail is not only unjust, but it is also unnecessary. Our birthday wish, and our purpose, is to end cash bail and create a more fair, just, and humane pretrial system. Join our movement at bailproject.org. #FreedomShouldBeFree

Nearly 1 in 10 people in U.S. jails are military veterans. Many face invisible wounds, like PTSD, that are worsened by incarceration. Unaffordable cash bail fails veterans by offering punishment rather than care. Instead, The Bail Project supports veteran clients in their darkest hour – connecting them with pretrial services that honor their legacy and promote healing. Learn more at bailproject.org. #VeteransDay

Cash bail has a disproportionate impact on Native Americans. ➡️ Jailing people based on wealth continues a long history of forced confinement of Native American people. ➡️ Native Americans are incarcerated at a rate 38% higher than the national average. ➡️ In some counties, Native Americans make up 30%-40% of the jail population, despite representing a much smaller share of residents. ➡️ There has been an 85% increase in the number of Native Americans held in jails over the last 25 years. Ending cash bail is an essential part of Indigenous sovereignty, and you can help. Head to bailproject.org to support our clients.

Don't be #tricked by these scare tactics played by opponents of bail reform. 🎃👻😱 Not only are they false, but they’re also dangerous. More fear-mongering means more people at risk of losing their jobs, their homes, and custody of their children in pretrial detention. We need bail reform to protect working-class Americans. Learn more at bailproject.org. #Halloween

When the other kids at school asked Lucretia where her mother was, she lied to them. “I’d say she was a traveling nurse. Who wants to say their mom is incarcerated?” But the struggle of having a mom in prison growing up fueled Lucretia to build a career that includes reuniting and supporting families impacted by the criminal legal system. She now works at The Bail Project, where she not only bails people out of jail, but helps parents and children overcome the feelings of shame around incarceration. “I’m trying to change that whole stigma, pretty much.” bailproject.org/action/when-th…

Most people assume that judges rely on a thorough presentation of evidence to make pretrial decisions. But in bail hearings, that’s often not the case. “Most of the time, no evidence is introduced at all. You hear from the prosecutor and the defense, but they are not presenting documentation or calling witnesses.” Former appellate judge Pierre Bergeron tells all about how the bail system really works – and how it can improved. bailproject.org/data/when-judg…