Laughing Gull Foundation Announces $2 million in Grants to Organizations Advancing Higher Education in Prisons Programs
Durham, NC – The Laughing Gull Foundation (LGF) is pleased to announce the approval of $1,978,800 in grants awarded in 2025 to 36 organizations working to expand access to postsecondary education and opportunities for incarcerated people across the US South. This grantmaking reflects LGF’s continued, and evolving, commitment to advancing educational equity, dignity, and belief in the capacity and potential of all people, including those incarcerated.
LGF’s HEP strategy is grounded in the belief that access to accredited, high-quality education is a critical tool for challenging mass incarceration and supporting long-term individual and community wellbeing. As the field of prison-based education shifts and adapts to massive changes in federal funding and a backlash of equity-focused work in higher education, LGF is priorizing sustainability, institutional leadership support of HEP programs, and student-centered program design.
“We see higher education in prisons as both an educational and racial justice strategy. Our 2025 grantmaking reflects a deeper focus on strengthening programs that are rooted in community, responsive to the lived experiences of incarcerated students, and well-positioned to endure and provide continuity of support for students. We are proud to support these institutions and organizations that are building meaningful pathways and expanding what’s possible for people who have historically been denied access to higher education.”
– Dr. LaTonya Penny, LGF Chief Executive
The 2025 HEP portfolio continues LGF’s emphasis on supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and BIPOC-led organizations, recognizing their long-standing leadership in advancing educational access and racial equity. Across the portfolio, LGF is supporting programs that move beyond course delivery alone to incorporate holistic and integrated supports, including renetry planning and career and workforce pathways. This year’s grantmaking also reflects an intentional effort to strengthen collaboration among educational institutions and community partners.
LGF’s 2025 Higher Education in Prisons Fund grants were made to the following organizations:
Alliance for Higher Education in Prison – National
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College – Asheville, NC
B.E.S.T. Lives Center at Benedict College – Columbia, SC
Claflin University Pathways from Prison Program – Orangeburg, SC
Columbia Center for Justice National Executive Council – New York, NY
Common Good Atlanta – Atlanta, GA
*Duke University Prison Engagement Initiative – Durham, NC
The Education Trust – Washington, DC
Florida Coalition for Higher Education in Prison – Orlando, FL
Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network – National
GA Coalition of Higher Education in Prison – Atlanta, GA
Jamii Sisterhood – National
*LeMoyne Owen College – Memphis, TN
Loyola at Rayburn – New Orleans, LA
Miami-Dade College – Institution for Educational Empowerment – Miami, FL
Mississippi Consortium for Higher Education in Prison – Jackson, MS
Mississippi Valley State University – Itta Beta, MS
Offender Alumni Association – Birmingham, AL
Operation Restoration – New Orleans, LA
Piedmont VA Community College HEP Program – Charlottesville, VA
Resilience Education – Richmond, VA
Simmons College – Louisville, KY
South Carolina Coalition for Higher Education in Prison – Columbia, SC
Southern Higher Education in Prison Collective – Southern Regional
Stetson University Community Education Project – Deland, FL
Tennessee Higher Education Initiative – Nashville, TN
Tennessee Prison College Coalition – Nashville, TN
The Chillon Project at Life University – Marietta, GA
UCF Florida Prison Education Project – Orlando, FL
University of Louisville – Louisville, KY
University of North Alabama-Limestone Prison Programming Initiative – Florence, AL
University of West Georgia – Carrolton, GA
VA Foundation for Community College Education – Richmond, VA
Vera Institute of Justice – National
*Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy – Richmond, VA
*Voorhees University – Denmark, SC
Additional grant to assist Southern HEP grantees to attend NCHEP in Spring 2026.
* denotes new grantees
For more information on LGF’s Higher Education in Prisons Program strategies, approaches, priorities, and impact, please click below.
