Equal Justice USA

In the spring of 2006, Equal Justice USA, a 20-year-old program dedicated to transforming criminal justice policy in the United States faced a changing climate within the movement to end the death penalty.  For the first time in many years, there seemed to be promising new opportunities for passing state policies, growing the movement, and expanding success.

But very particular questions arose as the organization debated how to take advantage of this new environment, including whether or not remaining under the auspices of Equal Justice USA’s parent organization, the Quixote Center, best served the mission of the program.  “We were assessing the growing opportunities and how we could grow to take advantage of them,” says Executive Director of Equal Justice USA Shari Silberstein. “What capacity did we need? Could we do it the way we were or did we need to spin off from our parent organization?”

Equal Justice USA hired MAG to help the organization develop a long term plan, arrive at the decision to establish its own nonprofit status, and guide it through the transition. Just hiring consultants was at that point counter to the culture of Equal Justice USA, which had, as Silberstein says, “a do-it-yourself culture”, but she says that MAG’s guidance was fundamental to helping the organization embrace new ways of thinking and working.

The partnership was transformative, Silberstein says. “MAG helped us capitalize upon an intuitive way of thinking – one that was often in my head – and institutionalize it. It was an amazing process, and it really helped bridge the gap between old staff and new staff when we expanded. With MAG’s help, we went from an organization that was anchored in one leader to an organization that was a collective --  from a fractured group work working under the same roof to a solid organization. It was really empowering because it tapped assets that we already had but needed to be pulled out of us.”

Plus, MAG consultants are willing to “get their hands dirty,” says Silberstein. While with many management consultants, non-profit organizations wind up with a planning document that is never used, MAG helps clients create planning documents that have longevity and live and breathe with the organization. According to Silberstein, “Our MAG consultant was willing to get in the trenches and do the work with us, not just leaving us with a pile of challenges. MAG was instrumental in helping us to start a new organization with a new structure and more staff, all while keeping up with our existing programming. It was really quite miraculous. And nearly three years later, the plan we came up with is still very much internalized within the organization and is very much a part of our work.”

Silberstein attributes much of the success of the partnership to the values shared by Equal Justice USA and MAG, noting that the MAG consultant “felt more like a colleague than an outsider, but she had the neutrality of an outsider. There was a shared sense of synergy, and we could trust MAG largely because their mission is to work with social justice nonprofits. MAG consultants aren’t just consultants – they’re part of the social justice movement, too.”

Silberstein describes the MAG style as responsive and interactive, yet also proactive. “MAG has an ability to identify where an organization is and lead them toward where they want to be. Since we’ve worked with MAG, I feel better than ever about Equal Justice USA and our effectiveness. MAG played a fundamental role in that.”