Surrogate FundingMentoring young men · Richland County & the Midlands
A man in his corner before the system.
Surrogate Funding keeps young men in South Carolina out of jail. We pair boys and young men with mentors who have walked the road, and we build them up in faith, family, finances, and order, so they never see the inside of a cell.
Watch our mission
Two minutes on why we exist.
Watch on YouTube · share it with someone who should hear it.
Why this, why now
The numbers behind the mission.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Jail Inmates in 2023 · Incarceration Transparency, South Carolina · University of Chicago Crime Lab, Becoming a Man study (2016)
The pressure
Seven in ten people in jail have not been convicted.
They are waiting. Some are waiting only because they cannot pay a bond of $70 to $300. While they wait, the job goes, the rent goes, and sometimes the children go too.
We take the pressure off at both ends: mentoring young men before the system ever meets them, and bringing people home when a few hundred dollars is all that stands in the way.
Explore
What we do, and how to stand with us.
Mission
Four pillars
Faith, family, finances, and order, and the young men we serve.
Our mission →Programs
The Crossroads circle
A weekly circle, a mentor for a year, money and work skills, and the evidence behind them.
See the programs →Bail fund
Bring someone home
Small bonds posted for people held only because they cannot pay, plus well-rated bonding companies.
How it works →Serve
Mentor a young man
Retired military and men who have walked the road: one hour a week.
Ways to serve →Questions
Straight answers
Who is eligible, what it costs (nothing), how fast we respond, and where the money goes.
Read the answers →Give
Make a founding gift
See exactly what your gift does, from $25 to $1,000.
Give now →