Abolition compromised: How state-nonprofit funding dynamics undermine anti-carceral reform

Defunding the police is an abolitionist strategy to reduce policing and boost community resources that address the root social problems contributing to crime. Abolitionists advocate for solutions led and held accountable by the community, addressing community needs without reliance on criminal legal systems or carceral approaches. Since 2020, several US cities have partially diverted police budgets to social services, primarily through municipal contracts with nonprofits providing public safety-related social services. However, scholars and abolitionists caution that state funding ties may expand carcerality and undermine liberatory efforts. This article explores how state-nonprofit funding dynamics influence the implementation of police defunding and the pursuit of abolitionist aims. Drawing on a 21-month ethnographic study in Minneapolis and Austin, two cities that defunded the police, this study uncovers four key funding dynamics—organizational competition, funder control, organizational agency, and accountability—that impeded abolitionist aims. These dynamics favored nonprofits with state ties or approaches aligned with state interests, constrained the community needs met and how, directed police dollars to nonprofits collaborating with police, and lacked community accountability structures. This article illuminates the complexities of implementing abolitionist strategies like defunding within a nonprofit funding framework, advocates for attention to implementation processes, and discusses strategies to address state influence.