Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Free the Innocent: Post-Conviction Litigation Program
The Innocence Project’s post-conviction litigation team represents more than 170 clients across 43 states and the District of Columbia at any given time — freeing or exonerating six to 12 innocent people each year.
Clients are primarily identified by the intake team, which reviews, investigates, and assesses more than 2,000 requests for assistance each year. Over the last three decades, the intake team has assessed 70,000 cases and 234 innocent people have been freed or exonerated by the legal team.
Prevent & Reform: Policy & Strategic Litigation Programs
The Innocence Project’s policy and strategic litigation teams drive impactful state and federal reform across the country to address the root causes of wrongful convictions and prevent future injustice.
Through identification of critical case law for reform directly in the courts, the strategic litigation team establishes legal precedents to ensure scientific integrity and prevent wrongful conviction.
The policy team advocates at state and federal legislatures to establish reform law that challenges prosecutorial misconduct, increases mechanisms to ensure police transparency & accountability, regulates forensic science, establishes compensation laws for those wrongfully convicted, and much more — securing over 200 reform policy victories to date.
Nurture Exonerees’ Success & Leadership: Social Work Program
We recognize the brilliance and resilience of each individual and their family and community who are at the center of these cases. The Innocence Project’s social work team provides wraparound support and flexible financial assistance to each freed or exonerated client during and after their release and return to their communities.
Knowing that solutions to the injustices of our criminal legal system must come from those directly impacted; the Innocence Project works with exonerees to build their power and amplify their voices via trauma-informed story sharing, public policy advocacy, and representation on the IP’s Exoneree Advisory Council (EAC).
Movement Building - Innocence Network
Through the Innocence Network’s movement of almost 70 organizations working together to free the innocent and prevent wrongful convictions, we build power in local communities to join this movement for true justice. Established in 2005, the Network has collectively exonerated more than 650 people.
Exoneration cases have radically expanded public understanding of the fallibility of the criminal legal system. Together, we are building a national movement for change.
Where we work
Awards
#1 in Criminal Justice Reform 2011
Philanthropedia Top Non-Profits
External reviews

Videos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Innocence Project's mission is to free the staggering numbers of innocent people who remain incarcerated and to bring substantive reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Innocence Project pursues an integrated strategy for justice by combining casework, communications and policy to free the innocent and advance reforms rooted in fairness and informed by science. The DNA exonerations serve as a learning moment, creating a groundswell of support for reform by increasing awareness about wrongful convictions and their underlying causes. With each new exoneration and policy achievement, the Innocence Project helps shape a criminal justice system based on fairness and informed by science.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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.
Innocence Project, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 01/18/2022
Jack Taylor
CEO, President and Director, Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
Vered Rabia
Partner, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates
Marvin L. Anderson
Hanover Fire Department
Jason Flom
LAVA Media
Jack Taylor
Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc.
John Grisham
Author
Gordon DuGan
Gramercy Property Trust
Vered Rabia
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates
Jessica Roth
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University
John A. Kaneb
HP Hood LLC
Ekow N. Yankah
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University
Denise Foderaro
Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice
Steven A. Reiss
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Andrew H. Tananbaum
AHT Partners, LP
Tony Goldwyn
Actor, Director and Producer
Cedric L. Alexander
Retired Police Administrator
Cynthia Augustine
FCB
Valerie Jarrett
University of Chicago Law School
Greg O'Hara
Certares
Yusef Salaam
Yusef Speaks
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
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
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data