FAMM 2025 Annual Report
Advancing second chances. Strengthening oversight. Walking together as a FAMMily.
Dr. Shaneva D. McReynolds
President, FAMM
STORYTELLING
Stories that Move People – Elevating Lived Experience to Illuminate the Need for Reform
In 2025, families trusted FAMM with their stories in deeper and more urgent ways than ever before. Their experiences – of excessive sentences, prolonged lockdowns, medical neglect, and hope for second chances – shaped the national conversation and fueled our advocacy at every level.
Stories to change hearts and minds...
Our Powerful Video Storytelling Connected Policy and People...
These two reforms could change one man’s entire life in Virginia.
The Necktie That Waited 40 Years
The Return of the FAMMgram!
Sometimes the old ways are the best ways. We returned to sending out print editions of our FAMMgram newsletter to prisons all over the country in 2025, and people are so grateful. FAMMgram Is Back!
Advocacy From the Inside Out
As part of a pilot program, we traveled to three Pennsylvania prisons to share Advocacy and Storytelling training directly with incarcerated people. The trainings are designed to educate incarcerated people about policy and effective advocacy storytelling. Stay tuned, because “Advocacy From the Inside Out” has only just begun; we plan to expand within the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, in other states, and into the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
50-STATE IMPACT
FAMM continues to play a vital role as a national hub and umbrella organization for issue advocacy related to our core issues. We routinely provide our members, lawmakers, the public, the media, and advocates with resources, technical assistance, and direct support in legislative and non-legislative advocacy. FAMM’s subject matter expertise has resulted in enhanced advocacy and strengthened reform networks nationwide while advancing our core issues alongside valued partners. For example...
Second Chances Working Group Minneapolis
With generous support, FAMM’s Second Chances Working Group brought together over 200 advocates in Minneapolis in 2025 to learn and grow the field of second look while sharing critical information, resources, and trends through 25 panels and hundreds of conversations.
Lobby Day 2025
Lobby Day 2025 saw families all over the country gather with FAMM to celebrate second chances and push for change. More than 65 family members and formerly incarcerated people met with Capitol Hill lawmakers to share their experiences, advocating passage of the EQUAL Act and codification of CARES Act home confinement.
FAMMily Zoom Calls
In 2025 we held a whopping 32 FAMMily Zoom Calls! These popular calls provided valuable training, community, and education for hundreds of members – all of them eager to become strong advocates for reform.
PRISON CONDITIONS
Transparency Is Not Optional but It Can Be Bipartisan
COMPASSIONATE RELEASE
FAMM at the Forefront of Compassionate Release
FAMM Compassionate Release: Why It Matters
Maryland Moves the Ball
FAMM and partners passed not one, but two bills to improve medical and geriatric release in 2025. SB 181 and HB 1123 expand opportunities for some incarcerated people who are aging or meet certain chronic or terminal medical criteria to seek release through parole. The legislative win is just the beginning – FAMM is providing significant implementation support through our state Compassionate Release clearinghouse program. The clearinghouse typically builds toward regulatory and legislative change. In Maryland, however, our clearinghouse work comes at a time when we can help ensure that the newly passed laws are implemented robustly.
North Carolina Clearinghouse Secures Its First Compassionate Release:
The North Carolina Compassionate Release Clearinghouse achieved a major milestone this year – its first successful release.
The Federal and State Compassionate Release Clearinghouses recruit, train, and support pro bono attorneys and connect them with volunteer medical experts to represent seriously ill and aging people in prison who meet release criteria.
At the state level, these clearinghouses bring together lawyers, doctors, advocates, correctional officials, formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones, and social workers to improve outcomes for people who would otherwise be left behind.
FAMM provides the backbone of this work, offering convening support, technical and organizing assistance, resource development, pro bono training, family resource guides, reentry planning, and client screening. FAMM’s collaborative, relationship-driven approach connects clearinghouses with parole boards and departments of correction, building trust and partnerships that help dismantle barriers to release.
That strategy paid off in North Carolina. After previously being denied compassionate release, an elderly man was finally able to return home in the first week of September 2025. By elevating his case with agency leadership and supporting a dedicated pro bono legal team, the North Carolina Compassionate Release Clearinghouse helped secure his freedom – marking the first state-level compassionate release victory in FAMM’s clearinghouse network.
Our work in North Carolina, including the challenges that remain, was featured by North Carolina Health News, https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/08/14/few-released-from-prison-under-medical-release/.
Hawaiʻi Clearinghouse Helps Shape Historic Compassionate Release Legislation
In Hawaiʻi, the clearinghouse took on a different, but equally transformative, role: helping draft the state’s first-ever compassionate release legislation.
FAMM participated in a legislative briefing on compassionate release that brought together lawmakers, advocates, and family members of incarcerated people seeking release. The briefing highlighted the urgent need for reform and helped build momentum for a compassionate release framework where none had previously existed. You can view the briefing here.
Clearinghouses Expand to Three More States
In addition to Hawaiʻi and North Carolina, this year marked significant growth for the state Compassionate Release Clearinghouse program with launches in Louisiana, Maryland, and South Carolina. Each is modeled after the success of FAMM’s Federal Compassionate Release Clearinghouse and grounded in FAMM’s theory of change: individual cases can open the door to systemic reform.
Together, these clearinghouses are advancing compassionate release across the country: one case, one collaboration, and one life-changing outcome at a time.
Federal Compassionate Release Clearinghouse Expands Its Reach
The Federal Compassionate Release Clearinghouse grew stronger this year, thanks to expanded pro bono partnerships that significantly increased our capacity to serve people with extraordinary and compelling reasons for a sentence reduction.
As a result, approximately seven individuals had their federal sentences reduced this year – people who otherwise would have continued serving unjust and excessive prison terms. Each reduction represents more than a legal victory; it means a family reunited, a life restored, and a second chance made possible through dedicated advocacy.
FAMM is also laying the groundwork for the next frontier in compassionate release. Building on our successful efforts to secure freedom for survivors of sexual abuse, we are launching an innovative initiative focused on people who are physically abused while in custody. This groundbreaking project – expected to be the first of its kind nationwide – recognizes that no one should be forced to endure violence behind bars without recourse.
Compassionate Release at the U.S. Supreme Court
Compassionate release advocacy also reached the highest court in the land this year.
FAMM filed two amicus briefs in United States v. Fernandez and United States v. Carter/Rutherford, cases before the Supreme Court of the United States that address the scope of compassionate release, particularly the “unusually long sentences” provision.
These briefs are part of FAMM’s broader effort to preserve and expand access to compassionate release for people serving extreme sentences. Beyond the courtroom, we worked to educate members, advocates, and the public about what was at stake. Leading up to the Court’s November 12 arguments, FAMM engaged in proactive media outreach, produced accessible video explainers about the legal issues and Supreme Court review process, and mobilized our network to raise awareness.
From individual case victories to advocacy at the Supreme Court, FAMM is advancing compassionate release on every front ensuring that mercy, fairness, and accountability remain central to our justice system.
SENTENCING REFORM
Sentencing Reform Offense and Defense, Year-Round
Shaping Federal Sentencing Policy
The U.S. Sentencing Commission remains a critical venue for advancing fair and proportional sentencing, and FAMM continues to be a leading voice at the table.
During the 2024–2025 amendment cycle, FAMM submitted detailed public comments urging meaningful reforms, including changes to the federal drug guidelines, elimination of the Career Offender guideline, and simplification of the sentencing guidelines overall. The Commission adopted several significant reforms this cycle, including important amendments to the drug guidelines, progress that reflects years of sustained advocacy.
FAMM’s leadership and perspective were also elevated through direct engagement with the Commission. FAMM President Dr. Shaneva D. McReynolds was invited to testify, sharing her powerful perspective as both a crime survivor and a sentencing reform advocate. At a subsequent hearing, Federal Defenders described her testimony as a compelling reminder that survivors of crime are not a monolith, and that justice must reflect a diversity of lived experiences.
Second Look
Clemency Now! Leading With Justice and Mercy:
FAMM’s “Clemency Now! Leading With Justice and Mercy” campaign (October 2024–January 2025) mobilized powerful storytelling and direct advocacy to elevate clemency as a vital tool for justice. We shared stories of people seeking second chances – and of those who had already received clemency and were rebuilding their families, careers, and communities.
The campaign reached senior staff at the White House, including the Domestic Policy Council and Counsel’s Office, and helped build public momentum around clemency reform.
Progress in Maryland:
In 2025, FAMM and a coalition of national and state partners passed second look legislation in Maryland. The Maryland Second Look Act (HB 853) allows many people who were convicted as youth or emerging adults (18 and 25) and have served at least 20 years in prison to petition the court for a reduction in sentence.
Media & Engagement
When the stakes rise, clarity matters more than ever.
In 2025, FAMM increased media engagement and digital outreach to elevate sentencing reform, clemency, compassionate release, and prison oversight.
The Life on Lockdown campaign, Policy Briefing Facebook Live series, and Supreme Court explainers helped translate complex policy into accessible public dialogue.
Leadership milestones strengthened our credibility:
- President Dr. Shaneva D. McReynolds appointed to the U.S. Sentencing Commission Sentence Impact Advisory Group
- Shanna Rifkin promoted to General Counsel
- Maria Goellner promoted to Vice President of External Relations
The Movement in Numbers
2025 Financial Overview
Assets
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents: $148,606
Cash and cash equivalents - mutual funds: $955,539
Investments - fixed income: $1,230,409
Bequest - current: $517,500
Grants receivable: $1,371,500
Due from related party: $59,544
Other receivables: $101,520
Prepaid expenses: $89,064
Total Current Assets: $4,473,682
Property & Equipment – At Cost
Furniture: $22,650
Equipment: $90,139
Less: Accumulated Depreciation: ($60,588)
Property and Equipment, Net: $52,201
Other Assets
Right-of-use asset – operating lease: $554,645
Bequest receivable – non-current: $384,917
Grant receivable – non-current: $1,969,127
Security deposit: $20,533
Total Other Assets: $2,929,222
Total Assets: $7,455,105
Liabilities and Net Assets
Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued expenses: $104,109
Lease payable: $210,870
Total Current Liabilities: $314,979
Long term liabilities – Lease payable (non-current): $403,204
Total Liabilities: $718,183
Net Assets
Without Donor Restrictions:
Undesignated: $1,689,058
Designated by Board: $990,000
Total without donor restrictions: $2,679,058
FAMM Board of Directors
Major Donors
- Anonymous
- Arnold Ventures
- Kaphan Foundation
- The Phil Harvey Estate
- The Just Trust for Education
- Vital Projects Fund
Pro Bono Partners
- Abell Eskew Landau
- Covington & Burling LLP
- Gibson Dunn
- Hecker Fink LLP
- The Law Office of Peter Goldberger
- Magnolia Pine Studios
- Morgan Lewis
- Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
- Williams & Connolly LLP
- WilmerHale
- Zuckerman Spaeder LLP
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