Annual Report 2017

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The NC Justice Center has existed in its current form—after growing out of Legal Services in the 1980s—for  over 20 years. We have worked alongside and for countless individuals during this time. Our partners  know what work we do, as do our donors, clients, and individuals who receive our emails and read stories on NC Policy Watch. But it can be confusing for someone who’s just getting to know what we’re about.

The NC Justice Center would not be what it is  today without the work of partner organizations and individuals that have worked alongside us. Each of those relationships is specific and personal to what we are as an organization because the work of the NC Justice Center is so specific and personal.

In the past year alone we organized clinics for immigrants across the state and hosted rallies in support of the Affordable Care Act. We reported on gerrymandering, environmental abuses, and unrelenting attacks on public education, while documenting the devastating impact of tax cuts on families with low incomes. We represented individuals who lost their homes to foreclosure or abusive consumer practices and workers seeking to be paid a fair wage for their work. We lobbied for and celebrated legislation that will aid thousands of formerly incarcerated North Carolinians and reaffirmed our commitment to speak out against racial injustice.

This may seem like many different kinds of work but it’s all interconnected. Each of our projects work in tandem in service of a common goal—to bring economic and social justice to the communities with low incomes across our state.

This report aims to break down the different pieces of our work—how each of our projects makes a difference across our five-strategy system and how they come together to create a unique nonprofit that is still evolving in these changing times.

We are in a time when many organizations like ours—although few are exactly like the NC Justice Center in terms of scope of work, history, and size—are reexamining where they belong in an ever-changing world. Right now we have a better sense of the fight that lies ahead, having worked tirelessly through a difficult and unprecedented past few years. The issues that lie at the heart of our work and lives —and the communities and ideals we have sworn to protect—have seemingly been under constant attack, demanding our action and compassion. We had to make a recommitment to that work and take time to examine and redefine where we belong in the broader social justice movement across North Carolina.

We have a better sense of our capability and strength. We know—more than ever—what a significant role each of us can play in building a more progressive state. One that stands by individuals from all walks of life,  regardless of race, gender identity, income, sexual orientation, country of origin, immigration status, religion, disability, or history of incarceration. We hope you’ll join us on this journey to a kinder, better, and wiser North Carolina.