Advancing equity today.
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An equitable world is a better world. So we’re expanding opportunities for Black, Hispanic/Latinx and Indigenous communities around the world in three key areas: education, economic empowerment and criminal justice reform. Because creating meaningful change takes all of us.
Education that powers possibility.
We’re increasing support for minority-serving institutions and programs that foster skill building, technology training and career growth. Because with more resources, more is possible.
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Carving creative solutions.
In March 2024, 40 educators graduated from Te Pūkenga digital technologies teacher training and development program, which serves Māori across Aotearoa New Zealand. The program was announced in June 2023 as part of REJI’s expansion into New Zealand. Since then, participants have helped more than 2,500 Māori students across 10 schools, including kura kaupapa Māori (Māori immersion) schools.
The program’s goal is to combat the systemic tech sector gap that exists within this community. By providing educators with access to technology and digital curriculums, the program inspires students to create digital solutions to real-world challenges. Educators are trained in iOS app development with Swift Playgrounds, app prototyping and design, and digital media development and programming. These educators then take their knowledge to the classroom, where they teach their students how to blend what they’ve learned with traditional techniques, like sketching Māori axe-carving designs with the Procreate app and improving their kapa haka (Māori performing arts) practice with iMovie, among other applications.
Te Pūkenga graduate Matua Jeff leads the Mahi-a-toi Academy at Rutherford College in Auckland. He focuses on teaching his students traditional Māori culture and language through song, dance, art and carving. Matua Jeff’s students also use iPad to help them create Māori art. He believes that powerful things happen when you combine the rich Māori culture with the latest tech.
“We are stronger in the future if we understand our past, our identity,” says Matua Jeff.
“iPad is another medium we can tap into that is moving us into the future. It has enhanced what we have already been doing, but has enabled us to elevate the outcomes and be more innovative in how we get students to tell their stories.”
In addition to helping students tell their stories, Matua Jeff is also creating a deep sense of belonging. “Here with Matua Jeff, we feel like it’s home,” says Troy Kuka. “I love being in his classroom, working on projects connected to my culture.”
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Teaching tradition through tech.
There are more than 460,000 Cherokee Nation citizens in the world, but only about 2,000 are fluent Cherokee speakers — and most are over 70 years old.
“Our language is very ancient, but it holds the keys to the future and where we want to go,” says Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner of the Cherokee Nation. “If you get to that last fluent language speaker and that person passes, you can hear a way of life ending. That is something we do not want to see here.”
To help keep the Cherokee language alive, the Cherokee Immersion Charter School opened in 2002. The Oklahoma school in the US teaches maths, music and other subjects to students in Year 1 through to Year 9, in their ancestral language. Though many students have parents and grandparents who were precluded from speaking Cherokee because of assimilation policies, at the Cherokee school, students speak their native language freely and proudly.
Many of these same students become fluent Cherokee speakers and continue their studies at Sequoyah High School, where they focus on science, technology, research, engineering, arts and maths (STREAM). They are also encouraged to tell stories about their culture. Dana Cochran, a science teacher at Sequoyah High School, says, “Storytelling is an important part of our culture. It helps create context. And culturally, as Indigenous people, so much of our knowledge is passed down from generation to generation.”
Another way Sequoyah students are preserving and sharing their language is through podcasting. In after-school classes, they learn how to use GarageBand to produce stories about their culture, interests and other topics.
“We love to see different cultures and to learn about them — it’s also important for people to have the opportunity to learn about ours, and for students to be understood,” says Melissa Fourkiller, a STREAM teacher at Sequoyah High School.
To support both schools, Apple donates iPad and Mac devices. And Apple’s Community Education Initiative team hosts onsite trainings to share the powerful creative capabilities of these devices, so educators can empower and inspire students to share their culture in new and innovative ways. “If we don’t tell our stories, they will be lost forever and our culture will be forgotten,” says River Koch, a senior at Sequoyah High School. “But with these technologies, we can share our Nation’s story with the world and keep our Nation going.”
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Coding with community in mind.
Throughout his life, Jerome Warfield has held many roles. Pharmaceutical sales rep. Probation officer. Pastor. But at 57 years old, he never envisioned adding coder to that list — until he heard about Detroit’s Apple Developer Academy. That’s when Pastor Warfield — who was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, USA — realised he could be a force for change within his community by learning to code.
Historically the home of automotive engineering, Detroit now has a growing class of entrepreneurs who are pioneering a new future of digital innovation. The Developer Academy, which has more than 15 locations around the world, brought its program to downtown Detroit — its first-ever US location — through a partnership with Michigan State University (MSU). The academy now reaches nearly 750 participants from the Detroit metropolitan area every year, with both short-term and long-term programs that teach the fundamentals of coding, design, project management, marketing and iOS app development. With its wealth of minority-owned businesses, the Detroit area was an obvious choice for a new Developer Academy location. And for Pastor Warfield, attending the program was a transformative experience.
“At the Developer Academy, I was able to collaborate with people who came from completely different backgrounds than myself. They expanded my thinking and understanding of what’s possible,” says Pastor Warfield.
The Developer Academy is also committed to helping senior public high school students continue their education by providing them with stipends to attend the academy. “This program changes the trajectory of individuals who now have access to technology,” says Pastor Warfield. “It opens up a whole new world for those of us who have felt shut out of the industry.”
The success of the Developer Academy is evident in its students. Pastor Warfield plans to apply what he’s learned to help senior citizens and formerly incarcerated people. Other alumni have built healthcare and cryptocurrency apps. And still others have been hired as Developer Academy mentors. All of which shows how learning to code has the power to benefit both people and communities in significant ways.
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A digital approach to preserving culture.
In Mexico, Apple has been working closely with educational institutions across the country to help set up and launch iOS Development Labs — bringing coding with the programming language Swift to students and preparing them for careers in Mexico’s iOS app economy. Among these institutions is the Wixárika School of Higher Secondary Education.
The Wixáritari are the largest Indigenous community in Jalisco, Mexico. As the world around them continues to digitise, they have been forced to make tough decisions, including leaving their close-knit community in search of educational and economic opportunities in distant cities.
To help ensure that the Wixáritari gain the professional skills they need while also preserving ties to their community, iOS Development Labs at the Universidad de Guadalajara (UdeG), along with regional partner Enactus, is helping them learn how to design, create and code their own apps.
“We have so much talent around us all the time. Our mindset is always about creating opportunities for more and more people,” says Jesús Esparza, President of Enactus Mexico.
In April 2022, six students and two teachers from the Wixárika School were invited to the lab at the Centro Universitario de Arte, Arquitectura y Diseño (CUAAD) campus of UdeG for coding training to support educational and economic opportunities in the Wixárika community.
There, the students and teachers learned how to use iPad and Mac devices and gained foundational coding skills with Swift Playgrounds. After their training, they passed on their knowledge to others in their community.
Rafael Cázares, Administrator for the UdeG iOS lab, is excited by the opportunities that coding has provided the students. “Now they want to solve all problems through apps,” he says. “They see a problem and know they can make a difference. It’s empowered them.”
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Filmmakers propelled by purpose.
Dr Tytianna Ringstaff believes creativity is a catalyst for change. As the Artistic Director of the Black Film Institute at Simmons College of Kentucky — a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Louisville, Kentucky in the US — she and other faculty are providing students with a platform to pursue their passion for filmmaking.
“We’re using storytelling to resurrect untold narratives about the Black experience. As a catalyst for change, we use art for activism to ignite critical conversations and disrupt the injustices we collectively experience,” says Dr Ringstaff.
Apple has invested US$25 million as a founding partner of the Propel Center, a first-of-its-kind global innovation and learning hub that supports all HBCUs. With a grant from Propel, Simmons’s Black Film Institute has created programming that gives its students hands-on experience making films — including writing, filming, directing, producing, editing and marketing them. “We want to make sure our students are leaving with that passion and authenticity — and the opportunity to become a vehicle for social change and transformation through their own story and their own lens,” adds Dr Ringstaff.
Using Mac, iPad and iPhone devices, as well as Final Cut Pro and iMovie editing software, the students produced and filmed the documentary series Raising Simmons: Treading the Lanes. The series pilot tells the story of 11 Black jockeys who raced in the first Kentucky Derby. “To me it was very shocking,” says Kristen Gray, a student who worked on the film. “These first jockeys were formerly enslaved. They were some of America’s very first athletes. That story gets overlooked.”
By creating these opportunities, Simmons College of Kentucky is ensuring that Black history is elevated and that more students like Gray are better positioned to pursue film careers. “I plan to continue to write and produce my short films,” she says. “I’ve even written a number of short horror films. I feel more confident, not only in writing, but in filming, directing and editing.”
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A new state of the arts in the UK.
In the United Kingdom, Apple’s partnership with the Southbank Centre is providing emerging Black creatives with the opportunity to showcase their talents at the country’s largest multi-arts centre.
“It’s not about teaching creativity. It’s about empowering it,” says Alexandra Brierley, Director of Creative Learning at the Southbank Centre.
Apple’s collaboration with the Southbank Centre began with a pilot project called Photo Fantastic. As part of the pilot, 15 emerging Black photographers from London produced over 4,000 photographs using Apple technology. Their work was featured at the Southbank Centre — and many of them won awards and recognition for their art.
The Southbank Centre partnership has since expanded to include the Reframe project. Spanning London, Manchester and Birmingham, Reframe provides 21 secondary schools with creative curriculums to help spark a passion for creativity in the next generation. Reframe also includes an industry-led residency program that helps 80 Black artists develop their skills in photography, music and filmmaking. Participants are given access to a suite of Apple technology to create their art, including iPhone, MacBook and iMac devices, and are also mentored by Apple creative professionals. At the program’s culmination, they exhibit their work at the Southbank Centre, with their program peers, other creatives, and members of the press and public in attendance.
“If you don’t feel like you are part of a creative sector that reflects and represents your community, that has a huge impact on confidence,” says Brierley. “This program is an investment in the whole talent pipeline, from school to early career and beyond.”
After the program ends, support for the artists continues. This includes long-term mentorship and connection to a growing alumni network. Ultimately, these efforts make a positive impact not only on the artists but on the industry as a whole.
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within reach.
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Higher education within reach.
Amanda Quintero believes that access to education shouldn’t happen by chance. The daughter of immigrant parents, Quintero didn’t have access to higher education, and the expectation was that she’d find a job after finishing high school. It wasn’t until Quintero’s last semester of her final year that a substitute teacher encouraged her to apply to university. That chance encounter changed Quintero’s entire trajectory. It was the moment she started to believe that she had what it took — that she belonged.
Today, Dr Quintero dedicates her career to ensuring that other first-generation university students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) have the same opportunities she had. She serves as the Senior Advisor to the President for Inclusive Excellence and as the Equity Innovation Officer of the Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub at California State University, Northridge, in the US. Launched in partnership with Apple, the Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub is working to transform HSIs nationally to increase student success and equip Hispanic/Latinx, and other minoritised and historically excluded students with skills to enter careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM).
“It’s a full circle of giving back, investing in diverse talent with the very communities that many of the students come from to disrupt intergenerational inequity,” says Dr Quintero.
In addition to technology and grants, Apple is providing experts to help design educational spaces and programming, positioning learners for success at university and in the workforce. The goal is to move the needle on equipping a largely first-generation student population with the educational experiences and skills they need to become first-generation professionals in STEAM fields. The Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub is making this happen by connecting HSIs to resources, thought leaders and one another, sharing what works to accelerate educational equity, all of which leads to a more inclusive and diverse workforce.
The Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub signifies a shift in the paradigm from what students must do to be successful to what HSIs must do to serve students intentionally. It puts the onus on leadership to shine an equity lens on their structures, policies and practices. It empowers students, faculty and staff to transform institutions, which Dr Quintero says is key to an effective equity-centred approach to education. The other key is engaging the families of first-generation uni students, who are often disconnected from campus life. “The first time my family ever set foot on a college campus was the day of my graduation,” says Dr Quintero. “And I don’t want that to be the experience of other students.”
Investing in economic impact.
Empowered companies leads to empowered communities.
So we’re championing diverse suppliers and industry innovators.
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Lights. Camera. Taking action.
When Alyse Arteaga applied to Ghetto Film School (GFS), she was skeptical.
“I assumed that a free program at a nonprofit was going to be a fun summer camp where I’d learn how to write a good story, and that was going to be it,” she says. But the school taught her far more than good storytelling skills. It provided Arteaga with a supportive community of fellow filmmakers and creatives who encouraged her to realise her dreams.
Today, Arteaga works as a professional director and filmmaker and says GFS was instrumental to her success.
“I found my element, my leadership, my confidence and a community at GFS,” says Arteaga. “I’m still equally as curious and ambitious, but I’m now someone who has the experience to be a more reliable director and leader.”
With locations in New York, Los Angeles and London, GFS gives young creatives from underserved communities training, hands-on experience and professional development to better prepare them for creative fields.
Arteaga is among the many GFS graduates who have pursued careers in entertainment. “About 75 per cent of GFS alumni go on to pursue media studies in prestigious programs at New York University, University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles, among other institutions,” says Montea Robinson, former student and current CEO of GFS. She attributes the program’s success to its student-led, hands-on, equity-focused approach. Robinson also says that Apple plays a critical role.
“The generous donations and contributions Apple has made have allowed our students to create wherever they are,” says Robinson. “Having the tools of storytelling in your pocket leads to accessibility for everyone.”
Apple’s partnership with GFS began in 2020 through Today at Apple Creative Studios, a program that provides underserved youth with access to creative education and hands-on experience. Through the 14-week multidisciplinary program, GFS students made Shot on iPhone short films and other creative projects. In 2021, Apple Music mentored the school’s Los Angeles–based students on topics ranging from planning their careers to navigating the industry. Apple’s GFS partnership further expanded in 2023 and 2024 with all three GFS locations receiving a REJI grant as part of Apple’s Black Unity Collection launch.
With Apple’s support of their Fellows and Roster programs, by the end of 2023, GFS had matched more than 200 students with industry jobs through their media network.
“Our goal is to put ourselves out of business,” says Robinson. “We want to create an industry that is so diverse and so well trained that there isn’t a need for us in the future.”
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of community.
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Bold solutions born of community.
For Maria Castellon, her business isn’t just about creating great products. It’s about prioritizing a safe environment for her employees to create these products. After immigrating to the United States from Mexico, Castellon witnessed hazardous conditions while working her way up through the manufacturing industry. So she dedicated herself to creating a better business model.
That model turned into Bench-Tek Solutions, a Silicon Valley–based manufacturing company that creates sustainably designed workplace and laboratory furniture. As the company grew, Castellon, its CEO, worked to adopt more sustainable practices. To help achieve this, she applied to the Apple Impact Accelerator program. The 12-week virtual program is designed to help scale U.S.-based Black-, Hispanic/Latinx-, and Native/Indigenous-owned businesses innovating in Apple’s key environmental focus areas: renewable energy, carbon removal, recycling innovation, and smarter chemistry.
“The Accelerator was both a personal and professional opportunity for me to grow,” says Castellon. “The one-on-one mentorship was extremely impactful, and my mentor really inspired me to keep working on my goals.”
Since completing the program, Castellon and her team have reduced Bench-Tek’s carbon footprint and increased its long-term sustainability. As part of these efforts, they asked fellow Impact Accelerator alumnus and solar roofing company Simmitri, Inc., to install solar panels at Bench-Tek.
“We were interested in developing strategies and investing in technology like fiber-optic lasers and solar for increasing energy efficiency in our manufacturing. We also wanted to utilize these strategies for more energy-efficient, innovative furniture design,” she says.
Bench-Tek’s success has elevated Hispanic/Latinx representation in Silicon Valley and the environmental sector. Castellon adds, “I love that a company such as Apple is really investing their resources and time and making an impact to create equality and inclusion for vendors like us who never had these chances before.”
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Financial advice that pays it forward.
For too long, Beatriz Acevedo and Mary Hernandez heard stories from people in the Hispanic/Latinx communities about keeping their money under a mattress — or stashed away in a safe in their homes. They did this because the US financial system has historically failed to understand and serve their needs. Acevedo and Hernandez knew they wanted to rectify this wrong by supporting their community in taking control of its finances.
So together, along with Xavier Gutierrez, they founded SUMA Wealth. The Latina-led financial technology company, with Chief Operations Officer Hernandez, Chief Executive Officer Acevedo, and Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer Daniela Corrente, first focused on gaining their community’s trust.
“We want the Latino community to know, this company is built by people like you and for you,” says Hernandez.
Corrente adds: “Many institutions think because they put a sign in Spanish, they are going to attract people from the Latino community, but that’s not what inclusivity means.”
For its part, SUMA Wealth is both an app and website that speaks directly to Hispanic/Latinx communities and their financial needs in culturally relevant and fun ways. A ‘dinero toolkit’ offers tips like how to pay off credit cards, while another section of the site provides answers to ‘401 qué’ questions.
The startup receives support from Apple partner VamosVentures, which funds diverse entrepreneurs with groundbreaking ideas. Just over a year after launching, SUMA reaches more than 5 million users each month. And within three months of starting the program, these users go from no savings to an average of US$500 in emergency savings.
“Ultimately, we want SUMA to be that all-in-one financial platform that fully supports our community at building generational wealth,” says Acevedo.
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Apps made by everyone. For everyone.
Founders from underrepresented communities face unique challenges, especially when starting and leading technology companies.
Apple Entrepreneur Camp was created to help support these founders and their organisations with app-driven businesses. The camp experience begins with an immersive technology lab, where participants receive one-on-one code-level guidance from Apple experts and engineers to help them significantly accelerate their apps. Along the way, they get mentorship, inspiration and insights from top Apple leaders. They also get one year of free membership in the Apple Developer Program that includes access to beta software, advanced app capabilities, extensive beta-testing tools and app analytics.
Participants are developing more than just apps — they’re developing long-lasting relationships too. Entrepreneur Camp alumni become part of a growing community of world-class leaders working across tech, business and social impact to support each other through the entrepreneurial journey. They also receive ongoing support from an Apple Developer representative, who is an expert on the developer ecosystem, as they build the next generation of cutting-edge apps.
Criminal justice rooted in reform.
We’re standing up for what’s right by supporting organisations committed to transforming the criminal justice system.
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Changing lives by changing systems.
Carly Stanley knew that things needed to change. The criminal legal system that systemically targeted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples needed to change. The child protection services that separated babies, children and young people from their culture and community needed to change. And Stanley, who had witnessed these injustices firsthand, believed she could fight for that change.
“It’s not a child protection system because the system doesn’t protect children. It’s not a criminal justice system because the system isn’t just,” says Stanley.
So Stanley and her husband Keenan Mundine created the Australian, Aboriginal Community–led nonprofit, Deadly Connections, which started in Sydney as an outreach program for Aboriginal young people who were frequently targeted by police. “The vision of Deadly Connections is to address systemic racial disparities through advocacy and various initiatives and to continue to dismantle and disrupt the harmful systems that have and continue to cause a lot of pain for our community,” says Stanley.
Her outreach initially consisted of playing sports with the kids to help keep them engaged and connected. From there, Deadly Connections grew into an advocacy and support organisation for adults and children affected by the criminal legal and child protection systems. “The prison experience is detrimental not only for the individual, but for the whole family and community. That’s why everything we do is grounded in culture and community. We know culture is a protective factor,” says Stanley.
Deadly Connections’s grassroots support includes logistical assistance for families such as ensuring that people can get to their appointments. And the nonprofit, supported by an Apple grant, helps kids and young people stay connected to their culture with one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring and pop-up community events.
The organisation is also addressing systemic issues at the policy level, including supporting Raise the Age, a national campaign striving to stop Australia from locking up young children and sending them to prison. Currently children as young as 10 can be incarcerated in Australia, younger than the age set by most other countries. Stanley is advocating for all of these changes so that Aboriginal peoples don’t just survive, but thrive.
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Painting new paths.
In Louisiana, USA, kids as young as 10 can be arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated in the juvenile justice system. And 95 per cent of these children are Black. They are exposed to the traumas of incarceration and denied the educational and development opportunities that every child deserves.
For Journey Allen, this makes her work as the Director of Youth Education at Arts New Orleans for its Young Artist Movement (YAM) Diversion Program that much more important. It’s why she works tirelessly to be a source of healing and guidance for system-involved youth so they can find a path towards a brighter future.
“I really believe in the power of creativity and how it can care for and heal our young people,” says Allen.
YAM, co-founded by Judge Arthur Hunter Jr in 2021, acts as an alternative to prosecution for children and youth with nonviolent offences. Apple has partnered with Arts New Orleans, a nonprofit organisation that supports arts and culture around the city, to take a stand against the incarceration of children by increasing support for the program. YAM is the only arts-based diversion program offered through the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office. After completion of the program, young people’s cases are dismissed.
Allen has witnessed firsthand how working with youth through the arts gives them a second chance, as well as a sense of hope and possibility. “A lot of the kids that come through the diversion program have a true desire to do well,” she says. “They’re just still searching for that thing that will capture their attention.”
One such outlet is mural painting, which has quickly become one of the young people’s favourite forms of creative expression. Local businesses, nonprofit organisations and city agencies commission these projects, and the kids gain real-world experience working with clients. They use iPad devices to film the mural-making process and have even used digital animation software on iPad to project their mural designs onto city buildings.
In addition to broadening their capabilities as artists, YAM helps its participants leverage art to speak to the issues directly affecting their communities. “The YAM program encouraged us to help people and shed light on different topics,” says Aliyah Pflueger, a YAM student artist, who applied to the program as a way to help develop her creative abilities. “We have a voice through this program to say something. People want to hear what kids have to say and what’s going on around them. We’re telling our story and helping our community.”
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Funding the front lines of change.
Black, Hispanic/Latinx and Indigenous communities continue to be disproportionately harmed by disparities in the criminal justice system. Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate of white Americans. Latin Americans are incarcerated at 1.3 times the rate of white Americans, and Native Americans are incarcerated at a rate 38 per cent higher than the national average — the highest rate of any demographic. That’s why Apple continues to support and donate to organisations dedicating their time, talents and resources to fight for systems that serve everyone equally.
Our grant projects in Australia support Indigenous-owned and -operated efforts such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales (NSW) Djamu Youth Justice Program, which supports Indigenous kids and teens impacted by the justice system through art and culture. Programming includes creative workshops, artistic projects and discussions with local artists.
Apple is also donating to domestic groups whose work is laying the foundation for meaningful reform within the United States. Our grant recipients include:
- The Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) works to end mass incarceration in California by empowering formerly and currently incarcerated people through a support network, comprehensive re-entry services — including transitional housing, clinical therapy, case management and workforce development — and grassroots policy advocacy, to create a more just and equitable criminal justice system for all people.
- Turn2U Inc.’s The Last Mile (TLM) program offers opportunities for personal and professional growth for justice-impacted individuals, both in the system and post-release, through education and technology training.
- Recidiviz is a tech nonprofit that partners with criminal justice agencies to advance their use of data to safely and equitably reduce incarceration at scale.
- The Vera Institute of Justice brings researchers, organisers and government leaders together to create evidence-based solutions that restore communities and end mass incarceration.
- Defy Ventures helps currently and formerly incarcerated people across the country find success in re-entry through employment and entrepreneurship.
Apple is grateful to all of the trailblazing organisations we’re partnering with for their tireless dedication to equity as we work towards a better future together.
More from Apple on REJI.
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