GOLD2023

Tennessee Innocence Project

Ensuring justice for all means all.

Nashville, TN   |  http://www.tninnocence.org

Mission

The mission of the Tennessee Innocence Project is to free innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.

Ruling year info

2019

Principal Officer

Jessica Van Dyke

Main address

700 Craighead St. Suite 300

Nashville, TN 37204 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

32-0582082

NTEE code info

Legal Services (I80)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2021 and 2020.
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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Attorneys in Tennessee do not get any funding for investigators or expert witnesses. This utter lack of funding means that an attorney will be compensated $1000 for reviewing a complex murder trial, re-investigating for new evidence, and re-litigating with a higher burden of proof than ever existed during the jury trial. Under the current system, it is nearly impossible for an inmate in Tennessee to prove their actual innocence without the necessary resources. Complex trials are laborious and require time and resources.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

The Tennessee Innocence Project

Investigating and litigating claims of actual innocence

Population(s) Served
Incarcerated people

Where we work

Videos

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The organization will be expanding its mission to operate with multiple law schools, law firms, advocacy groups, and other partners in all parts of Tennessee, with the focus on providing the resources, staff and infrastructure necessary to fight for the innocent.

We are currently focusing on three specific goals for our organization: litigating wrongful convictions which will result in successful exonerations across the state of Tennessee, training law students and attorneys how to litigate post-conviction cases while also understanding how to prevent wrongful convictions, and create changes in policies and laws related to discovery in wrongful convictions and in doing so, finding remedies for people who have been wrongfully convicted.

Our primary desired result from our organizational goals will be to have exonerations of innocent people throughout the state of Tennessee over the next 3-5 years.

In order to accomplish our desired goals, we will be focusing on our fundraising efforts, expanding our partnerships with both local and national constituents, and increasing our infrastructure.

Increasing our infrastructure will involve hiring a new Staff Attorney, as well as our most recent addition to the organization in hiring an Operations Coordinator to assist with the organization's daily administrative duties.

The organization is developing it's fundraising plan for the next year and is currently working with the Board of Directors to establish a strategic plan.

Our strategic plan will be designed to measure our progress and performance with our fundraising efforts over the next 2 years.

Our organization is currently creating a fundraising/event planning timeline for the current fiscal year. We are strategically aligning our fundraising events throughout Tennessee based on our current fundraising budget and benchmarking off of the success we had last year with our events.

In 2020, the organization will also be launching it's first direct mail marketing campaign.

We are focusing on donor retention in 2020 in order to develop current and future partnerships with the legal community and overall encompassing communities throughout East, Middle, and West Tennessee.

With the support and guidance of the Schooner Foundation, our Board of Directors, our amazing donors, and the pro-bono attorneys who have dedicated over 800 hours of case work in the past year, we are able to continue the challenging work of litigating claims of innocence.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

Tennessee Innocence Project
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Tennessee Innocence Project

Board of directors
as of 10/17/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Brad MacLean

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 7/26/2021
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

Transgender Identity

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 02/10/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.