This year, we are grateful for your continued support as we provided nearly 11,700 individuals with the tools, resources and support they needed to lead productive and successful lives. This work would not be possible without you!  

The Fortune Society keeps growing. In 2024, we broke ground on Castle III, our new permanent affordable housing site in East Harlem, and we saw the implementation of the new Atlas HOPE program, adding to existing community violence intervention and prevention strategies in New York City. We look forward to another year of providing services and support for our community of participants.   

While financial contributions are always greatly appreciated, here are some additional ways you can support The Fortune Society:     

1. Volunteer Your Time: The Fortune Society’s volunteers make valuable contributions to our work and provide much-needed support to our growing community! Last week, we shared a story about one of our mock interview volunteers, Jim, on our blog. As he mentioned, volunteering can be an incredibly rewarding and humbling experience. Read more about Jim’s experience as a volunteer at Fortune and consider applying for one of our available volunteer opportunities. Complete our online application or contact our Director of Volunteer Services, Ashley Otto, with any questions at aotto@fortunesociety.org.

2. Use humanizing language: Terms like “inmate,” “convict,” “ex-offender,” and “ex-con” stigmatize individuals with criminal justice involvement, making it difficult for them to move forward. Aid in their reentry process by using language that keeps their humanity front and center— and acknowledges their ability to navigate on a positive path. Examples of suitable terms to use include:

• • Individual with prior or current legal system involvement 

• • Justice-involved individual 

• • Formerly incarcerated individual or incarcerated individual 

• • Returning citizen 

Encourage others to do the same. Through this, you’ll help emphasize that justice-involved individuals are not defined by their conviction histories. 

3. Purchase from Our Amazon Wishlist: One of the many ways we support our participants is with care packages for those coming home from incarceration. By making a purchase from our Amazon Wishlist, you will directly provide justice-involved people with high-need items this season, like winter clothing items, hygiene products and more. Your purchase can make a difference in the lives of system-impacted individuals and ensure their successful reentry. Men’s suits and other professional clothing items are also a great need among participants enrolled in the Employment Services program. Please call 718-906-2986 to learn more about how you can make an in-kind donation.

4. Run as a Fortune Flyer: Each year, the Fortune Flyers hit the pavement in the TCS New York City Marathon and run 26.2 miles to support our vital reentry services and promote alternatives to incarceration. As a Fortune Flyer, you are guaranteed entry to the TCS New York City Marathon as you fundraise through your friends, family and networks to strengthen our programming. Applications will be available on our website next year, or you can email development@fortunesociety.org with any questions. 

5. Stay Up to Date on our Advocacy and Policy Actions: Our weekly newsletter ensures that our supporters stay current with everything going on in the Fortune community, with a quarterly newsletter taken over by our David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy. Subscribe to ensure you don’t miss any news, participant stories or upcoming events happening throughout the year. You can also keep up with the Fortune community on social media! We share policy updates, community events and other important Fortune updates on our platforms. Connect with us! 

6. Join Us at Upcoming Events in 2025: This year, our community of participants, staff and supporters celebrated the transformative power of art at Future Freedoms, our Creative Arts community’s exhibition at MoMA PS1, empowered Fortune participants with tech skills at our annual Tech Fair and rallied in Albany in support of important legislation. We can’t wait to bring our community together throughout 2025 at events like this, and we encourage you to join us!