Campaign Details
We have posted bail for over 350 people. We have spent over $160,000.00. The need is far far greater than we could have imagined, and we need to take a break to recoup enough money to continue posting bail. Starting June 21, 2016, we are suspending referral processing while we raise money.
The Bail Fund is run completely by volunteers who process requests, communicate with attorneys, families, and jails. We sift through referrals, and we sit in jails for hours waiting for bail commissioners to come and take our money. We post bail for people so they can go home instead of spending one more night in jail. We do this for no other reason than we believe that pre-trial incarceration, for even one day, is disastrous for people, families, and communities.
60% of our clients cases are dismissed. More than half of our clients would have spent time in jail for no reason if the Bail Fund wasn't there with up to $500 plus a non refundable $40 fee.
We ask nothing of our clients except - come to court and take care of your legal issues. And they do - our forfeiture rate is so low as to be almost negligible. Over 90% of our clients come back to court as required.
A year ago we were posting bail in one county. Now we are in five counties. In June of 2015, we posted bail for three clients, and spent $1200.00.
In May of 2016 we posted bail for 39 Clients and spent $18,751.00.
WE NEED YOUR HELP. Any amount you can donate is appreciated and every penny goes towards bailing out someone who would spend another night in jail without your help. The Bail Fund is supported by an amazing community of people who are connected only by the fact that they want to help someone in need. Your donation is tax deductible and becomes part of a renewable resource; as cases close, the Massachusetts Bail Fund recovers the bail money to use for future clients.
