Press Contact: Jeremy Cherson, Director of Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

(LOS ANGELES, CA) – Today, The Bail Project announced that it has supported more than 40,000 people through bail assistance, supportive services, and innovative pretrial pilot programs since its founding. The organization is on a mission to end cash bail and create a more fair, just, and humane pretrial system.

Every day, legally innocent people are held in jail pretrial for no reason other than their inability to pay bail – often for low-level, nonviolent charges. This practice destabilizes lives and violates the principle of presumed innocence. The Bail Project intervenes in this humanitarian crisis with direct services rooted in dignity, stability, and collective care.

Impact By The Numbers

Of the more than 40,000 people supported, nearly 35,000 received free bail assistance, along with court reminders, transportation, and community referrals, which promote stability and court compliance. The Bail Project only posts bail for people already deemed eligible for release by a judge, removing money as the barrier to freedom in 29 jurisdictions where the organization has operated. These clients returned to court 92% of the time, proving that cash bail is unnecessary to ensure court appearances.

Additionally, more than 6,000 people – most released on their own recognizance – have received support through The Bail Project’s pretrial pilot programs, which address real-life barriers that prevent court return. Services include court reminders, transportation, warrant clearance support, housing assistance, and access to legal and community resources. Pilot sites include Chicago (IL), Washtenaw County (MI), and St. Louis (MO), where community-based hubs like the Tap-In Center help individuals resolve warrants and connect with supportive services without fear of arrest.

Since 2018, the Bail Project’s work has:

• Prevented more than 1,409,562 days of incarceration
• Saved more than $109 million in taxpayer costs
• Provided nearly $104 million in free bail assistance
• Served people across 29 jurisdictions nationwide
• Revolved 89% of bail funds to help others
• Seen nearly one-third of clients have all their cases dismissed, demonstrating unnecessary pretrial detention

Leadership Perspective

“This milestone underscores both the scale of the national crisis of unaffordable bail and pretrial detention, and the transformative impact that collective care can have in confronting it,” said David Gaspar, Chief Executive Officer of The Bail Project. “Every day, we see the difference it makes when people are met with support rather than punishment. Freedom should be free – and no one should sit in jail simply because they cannot afford to buy it.”

“Our clients are our teachers,” said Robert Brown, National Director of Operations at The Bail Project. “We meet people at some of the hardest moments of their lives – scared, isolated, and unsure what comes next. When someone realizes that a stranger believes in them enough to show up, to pay their bail with no strings attached, to help them get to court or access support, something shifts. It restores dignity. It rebuilds hope. And as our 92% appearance rate shows, people rise to that trust every single day.”

Beyond Direct Services: Advancing Systemic Change

The Bail Project pairs direct service with strategic advocacy and public education to transform the pretrial system. Our policy team leads legislative and issue-driven campaigns in states across the country, advancing reforms that remove money from the pretrial process and significantly reduce pretrial jail populations. They work to protect progress and hold the line against regressive efforts to expand detention or restrict charitable bail.

In parallel, our research, narrative, and public education experts work to shift the national understanding of what is possible, publishing evidence-backed analysis and promoting proven alternatives to build broad public and political support for a world without cash bail. Their work equips policymakers, practitioners, and communities with concrete models that demonstrate that safety comes from support, stability, and dignity – not wealth or punishment.

Together, these teams drive a unified strategy to end wealth-based detention and replace it with a fairer, safer pretrial system rooted in care, not cash.

Looking Ahead

The Bail Project is powered by more than half a million individual donors who make freedom possible every day. With an average donation of under $100, our revolving bail fund continually recycles itself to help others because bail is returned at the end of a case. A single dollar donated in 2017 has already helped free 10 people in 2025.

As we look ahead, The Bail Project remains committed to scaling a national model rooted in dignity and support, advancing policy reform, and building the public will required to end wealth-based detention once and for all. Together, we can create a pretrial system where freedom is not for sale, and where safety comes from care — not punishment.

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The Bail Project is a national nonprofit working to transform America’s pretrial system by eliminating reliance on cash bail and proving that a more humane, equitable, and effective pretrial system is possible. We provide free bail assistance and pretrial support to thousands of low-income people each year while advancing policy change at the local, state, and national levels. Since our founding, The Bail Project has supported over 40,000 people navigating the pretrial system, which includes nearly 35,000 individuals whose release we secured by posting bail and providing supportive services such as court reminders and transportation assistance. With this support, those clients returned to court 92% of the time, proving that support – not wealth – is what makes the system work. We have also provided supportive services through pilot programs to more than 6,000 people, ensuring that both wealth and access to support are never barriers to fairness in the pretrial process. Learn more at bailproject.org.