Tide Shift Justice Inc

Public Education and Community Engagement. TSJP both performs outreach and holds meetings in and amongst the community, produces educational materials, and gives presentations to the public about its areas of focus. TSJP considers the involvement of the impacted community in decision-making and research and policy development as a core tenant of its work. It also believes that many community members and government officials would push for improvements if they were educated about the issues and solutions. As a part of the Campaign to End Debtors' Prison, TSJP holds monthly virtual community meetings to discuss criminal legal system fines and fees research, issues in the community, and to discuss prioritization and strategy. These meetings are open to the public, and widely advertised through other community groups. Meetings are regularly attended by other non-profit organizations (both local and national), direct service providers, government agency partners, and directly-impacted Delaware community members. In 2024, TSJP hosted monthly Campaign to End Debtors' Prison meetings and several special workshops with the Campaign around policy priorities. These meetings are generally well-attended, with 10-20 people at any given meeting, and 20-30 regular attendees who cycle through. Almost 200 people stay in contact with the Campaign to End Debtors' Prison and receive campaign updates and information. In October, TSJP also hosted an "Open House" to recruit and inform potential volunteers for the Campaign to End Debtors' Prisons and a dozen other community organizations or campaigns. The "Open House" was held virtually and again in-person, and in total almost 80 people attended. Lastly, TSJP partnered with a local videographer and a partner direct-service provider nonprofit to produce two videos about the impact of fines and fees in Delaware. These videos were completed in 2024 and will become available to the public in 2025. Roughly 30% of TSJP's total time and expenses were used for public education and community engagement. Public education and community outreach is sometimes virtual, but often in-person at community centers, churches, libraries, and public gathering spaces around the state of Delaware. Public education and community engagement is an "educational" activity.

Wilmington Municipal utility billing and parking enforcement - Tide Shift Justice Project also researches, creates policy, and provides limited direct legal representation around municipal utility billing and parking enforcement, specifically focusing on Wilmington, Delaware, as part of its mission for innovating for fair and responsive government practices. TSJP's research in this area focuses on reducing city government's dependence on fines and fees to fund services and instead focusing on more efficient and equitable government funding. TSJP is a part of a team of organizers in Wilmington, Delaware who have been studying parking and water billing in Wilmington and the city's reliance in its budget on fees collected through these services. During the fall of 2024, TSJP worked to educate candidates and the public about fines and fees issues. Chiefly, TSJP organized, hosted, and moderated the only public forums for Wilmington City Council candidates, inviting every candidate for office, and asking non-partisan questions with a focus on fines and fees municipal funding issues. The forums stretched two nights in order to provide time for all candidates. TSJP's executive director moderated the second night, and the events were well attended both in-person and streaming online. The nights also received fairly significant media coverage. Roughly 30% of TSJP's total time and expenses were allocated to its municipal utility billing and parking enforcement project. Research of municipal utility billing and parking enforcement is both a charitable and educational activity. Litigation is a charitable purpose.