How did you initially develop the concept for Forgive Everyone Co.?
Forgive Everyone came about after I had begun to become acquainted with the brokenness of the criminal justice system. The state of mass incarceration in the nation seemed like such an astronomical problem that I simply didn't know where to start to fix it; but I knew I had to do something.
My initial start was out of my dorm room in May of 2018. I put up a site to sell shirts with the intention of donating the proceeds to some non-profits that were doing housing, employment, and rehab work with people coming out of prison.
I began meeting with people who were coming out of prison here in Grand Rapids and that is when I got the idea to share their stories. I began writing their life story and taking their pictures and sharing them on the blog in an attempt to humanize a population of people that most individuals had never been acquainted with.
So much of the fear surrounding the criminal justice system is due to ignorance. People don't know anyone who's been incarcerated and therefore they believe only what they see on the media (crime shows, evening news, etc.) Very quickly, they get a picture painted that everyone in prison is a "criminal" rather than a human being with complex life experiences, thoughts, and feelings. I believe that if we can effectively change public perception of people in prison through humanizing them through storytelling, then we can do our part in creating a community that is rooting for their success upon their release, rather than isolating them due to personal fears.
How did you arrive at 20% of proceeds donated to your cause, and how do you make this happen?
When we originally started we were donating 50% of our proceeds but after a few months we realized we weren't able to cover our basic expenses with that big of a cut. That's why we opted to lower it to 20%, which allows us to not only cover our basic expenses like website upkeep, paying writers, new inventory etc., but it also allows us to expand our advocacy efforts into putting on events (our first was this January at Calvin University: Path to Justice, A Conversation on Criminal Justice Reform), writing letters to people incarcerated across the United States, and expanding the amount of stories we are able to write for people coming out.
The 20% we donate is from the pure profit per shirt which is the revenue minus the cost of materials. We don't include all of our other expenses in calculating that profit margin, so we are able to donate more per purchase. We have three nonprofits in particular we partner with (
here they are), but in the case of the Decarcerate Collection, because of COVID-19 we have transferred to using the profits to primarily fund the COVID-19 emergency bail fund.
Tell me about your recently released collection, "Decarcerate."
Our Decarcerate collection had been in the works for over a month before the COVID-19 crisis really picked up. It was the week before release that I decided that for this release we should begin using the proceeds to actually decarcerate people at risk of illness due to their incarceration. It just happened to line up very well with the pieces we designed.
There are three pieces: a simple Forgive Rose design which has been a staple of our brand for years; a shirt featuring the words "Decarcerate. Rehabilitate." on the front with a sort of manifesto about decarceration on the back; and a roll of burning dollar bills featuring the words "People Over Profit.”
Who are your partner organizations?
Our official partnered organizations are listed in the link above. National Bail Fund Network is not an official partner, but is the bail network that we are donating to for this particular collection. After this all blows over, we may explore adding them as an official partner in which case we would continue donating a portion of our proceeds to them monthly.
What are other ways that you communicate and educate about your cause?
We communicate our cause through our online blog which serves as a hub for transformation stories, general information about criminal justice reform, opinion articles, and news in criminal justice reform. We also are incredibly active on social media, keeping our following updated on the current state of things. As I mentioned previously, we also have begun putting on events.
The Path to Justice event was the beginning of a series on the same topic. We were supposed to be at Wheaton this month hosting the event, but the virus postponed our plans until the next school year there.
Lastly, we see the shirts themselves as conversation starters for our community. We have lots of feedback from people that have supported us by purchasing our merch that have said that anytime someone asks about it, it has opened the opportunity for them to advocate for issues surrounding incarceration and prison reform. It helps provide intro into conversations that I believe can really begin to shape how people think about these issues around the country.
We can't do the work alone, but our official mission is to UNIFY, EMPOWER, and ACTIVATE people to do this kind of advocacy themselves. We want to build and activate this community to learn about and do this advocacy work themselves in their own community. That's how a grassroots movement can begin to build into substantive cultural change.
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Bio: Skyler, a 22-year-old Senior at Calvin University, is the Founder of The Forgive Everyone Collective. A community raising awareness and empathy for men and women coming out of prison, and funding reentry efforts across the country. He is also the owner of Unitas Printing in Grand Rapids, MI. In his free time, he enjoys riding his bike around the city and photography.
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