Coronavirus Relief: Twitter's Jack Dorsey Donates $10 Million To Prison Aid Program Founded By Rappers Jay-Z, Meek Mill

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter and Square, is the latest high-profile figure to make a sizeable coronavirus relief donation. On Monday, Dorsey’s philanthropic organization, #startsmall, announced a donation of $10 million to the REFORM Alliance criminal justice reform group. The funds will be used to provide protective masks for inmates and workers in prisons all across the U.S.

“The criminal justice system needs to change,” Dorsey said in a statement about his donation. “Covid-19 adds to the injustices and REFORM is best suited to help.”

According to REFORM, Dorsey’s donation will allow them to purchase and distribute 10 million masks to prisons, which have been amongst the hardest-hit institutions by the COVID-19 pandemic. Major outbreak clusters in the U.S. have been traced to prisons in states like California, Michigan, and Ohio. The Marshall Project estimates that roughly 20,000 inmates have contracted the virus.

REFORM Alliance was founded in 2018 and co-founded by rapper-activist Meek Mill following his experience in prison. The group was also co-founded by rapper Jay-Z, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Philadelphia 76ers partner Michael Rubin, and is led by CNN’s Van Jones.

“Not only will this gift help us protect millions from the threat of COVID-19, but this level of support from a tech titan marks a turning point for the criminal justice reform movement,” Jones said.

Dorsey also recently donated $750,000 to rapper Eminem’s Marshall Mathers Foundation, which will provide relief funds for the musician’s hometown of Detroit.