Committee forwards Public Defender's Adachi Project Ford Foundation grant to full Board
March 22, 2023 | San Francisco County, California
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The Budget & Finance Committee voted to forward to the full Board a resolution retroactively approving the San Francisco Public Defender's office participation in a $200,000 Ford Foundation grant to support the Adachi Project, a storytelling initiative that produces short documentary films and visual journalism about people affected by the criminal legal system.
Elected Public Defender Manod Raju told supervisors the Adachi Project was created to "humanize our clients, their families, and their stories" and to present perspectives often overlooked by courts and the public. Raju said the Ford Foundation awarded a two‑year $200,000 grant that will be dispersed directly to a project partner identified during the presentation; he said no grant funds will come to the city or his department because the city retains the project's intellectual property.
Raju described three pilot films created during the project's initial phase (on incarceration during COVID, life in a halfway house and reentry after long incarceration) and said the philanthropic funds will support production of additional short films and media over the next two years. Carolyn Goosen and Jesse Seifer from the Public Defender's office joined the presentation.
No members of the public commented. Chair Connie Chan moved to forward the resolution with a positive recommendation; the committee approved the motion with Vice Chair Rafael Mandelmann and Chair Chan recorded as "aye" (Member Asha Safaie was excused for late arrival). The item will proceed to the full Board for acceptance of the grant and approval of the city's accept-and-expend process.
The office asked the Board to accept the grant formally because the City holds ownership of the Adachi Project intellectual property and to allow the project partners to receive and use philanthropic funds for production.
Elected Public Defender Manod Raju told supervisors the Adachi Project was created to "humanize our clients, their families, and their stories" and to present perspectives often overlooked by courts and the public. Raju said the Ford Foundation awarded a two‑year $200,000 grant that will be dispersed directly to a project partner identified during the presentation; he said no grant funds will come to the city or his department because the city retains the project's intellectual property.
Raju described three pilot films created during the project's initial phase (on incarceration during COVID, life in a halfway house and reentry after long incarceration) and said the philanthropic funds will support production of additional short films and media over the next two years. Carolyn Goosen and Jesse Seifer from the Public Defender's office joined the presentation.
No members of the public commented. Chair Connie Chan moved to forward the resolution with a positive recommendation; the committee approved the motion with Vice Chair Rafael Mandelmann and Chair Chan recorded as "aye" (Member Asha Safaie was excused for late arrival). The item will proceed to the full Board for acceptance of the grant and approval of the city's accept-and-expend process.
The office asked the Board to accept the grant formally because the City holds ownership of the Adachi Project intellectual property and to allow the project partners to receive and use philanthropic funds for production.
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