Kim Carter’s story isn’t just powerful — it’s transformational. Once incarcerated herself, Kim turned her pain into purpose by founding Time for Change Foundation, a nationally recognized nonprofit that helps formerly incarcerated women reclaim their lives, rebuild their families, and reenter society with dignity. Her journey from incarceration to CNN Hero is nothing short of extraordinary — and her organization stands as a living testament to the power of resilience and radical care.

But building a foundation that moves women from prison to permanent housing takes more than vision — it takes capital, infrastructure, and deep alignment with funders who believe in long-term change. That’s where NRDC-IE came in.

When Kim partnered with NRDC-IE, she was already a respected leader in the reentry space. But we helped her scale her efforts and unlock funding in ways that matched her vision. With our support, Time for Change Foundation has secured over $11 million in grant funding — a combination of public and private dollars including awards from BSCC, SAMHSA, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

This level of funding has allowed Kim to expand services in transitional and permanent supportive housing, launch holistic wraparound programs including parenting classes and financial literacy, and train the next generation of advocates through her leadership academy. Time for Change is more than a service provider — it is a pipeline from trauma to transformation.

NRDC-IE’s role has been to walk beside Kim in the funding arena — helping align her impact with high-stakes funding opportunities, offering technical assistance on applications, budgets, and narrative framing, and ensuring that her work gets seen by the right reviewers at the right time.

Kim’s organization is also a critical voice in statewide policy advocacy, helping shift how the justice system and housing systems respond to women and mothers. With every dollar we’ve helped secure, we’ve strengthened a movement led by someone who has lived it — and who is committed to ensuring that other women don’t fall through the same cracks she once did.

At NRDC-IE, we are proud to support Kim Carter, not just because she is a survivor and a powerhouse — but because she’s building a future that doesn’t just let women back in, it welcomes them home.

This is what partnership looks like. This is what equity in action feels like.