2025 Recurring Donor Interviews (Part 1)｜Viewing Donations as "Venture Capital": What Can I Do for the Society of My Ideals?

As the Judicial Reform Foundation (JRF) marks its 30th anniversary, we embarked on a special endeavor. Historically, JRF's donation structure has relied heavily on major contributions, with stable, recurring donors making up only a tiny fraction of our funding sources. To understand what drives individuals from all walks of life and across a wide age range to choose to invest their resources into judicial reform—a long and arduous path—amidst the clamor of social issues, we interviewed five recurring donors with vastly different backgrounds. They include a sociology graduate student in their early twenties, a tech-industry engineer, a veteran NGO practitioner, a freelance former editor, and a supporter living abroad who still cares deeply about Taiwan's pulse. Despite their diverse identities, they share a common value: the aspiration for the sustainable development of a rule-of-law society.

When Life Memories Overlap with Initial Judicial Intentions: The Shared Experience of Being Wronged

W, currently a graduate student, initially came to JRF as a volunteer alongside classmates to assist with advocacy for wrongful conviction rescue. His focus on wrongful conviction issues actually stems from an indelible memory during junior high school. While studying in the school's self-study room, his desk was maliciously vandalized. Without any evidence, the head of student affairs relied solely on subjective judgment to conclude that W was the culprit, forcing him to spend his favorite physical education class period being disciplined. The anger and helplessness of being unable to prove one's innocence transformed, when he encountered wrongful conviction issues later in life, into steadfast support for the innocent and for social advocacy. He believes that everyone experiences being wronged to some extent in their lives, and if one can use this shared empathy to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, that is the most important meaning of participating in society.

Freelancer C is another person who resonates with the stories of "individuals." Out of curiosity during her university years, she wrote a letter to Chiou Ho-shun, who was in prison, and received a reply. This letter acted like a window, allowing her to see living, breathing individuals behind a perplexing judicial system. For C, legal provisions might be profound, but the regrets and pain behind wrongful convictions are a language everyone can understand. What she saw at JRF was not merely adherence to legal professionalism, but a safeguarding of the plight of every single "individual" within the system.

Veteran NGO worker D also agrees that this resonance with others' life experiences is precisely the key to making the general public see and willing to support judicial work. Compared to general social welfare relief, judicial issues tend to be more political and carry a higher threshold; unless the general public experiences them firsthand, it is difficult to generate an emotional connection. D mentioned that past screenings of wrongful conviction documentaries held by JRF allowed people to see real stories from an emotional perspective, which often proves more substantially helpful for fundraising and social communication than simply explaining cases.

It is precisely this simple pursuit of how justice ought to be that drives W to use his teaching assistant stipend and part-time earnings to make recurring monthly contributions to JRF. C also mentioned that this support is based not only on ideals, but also on identification with the organization's values and personal interactions with its workers. Seeing JRF and other NGO partners spare no cost in plunging into lengthy rescue missions despite scarce resources and fundraising difficulties deeply moved him. Believing that human rights protection is an indispensable vocation, they chose to support this clear-goal and steadfast organization through recurring donations to keep it operating.

Viewing Donations as Venture Capital: Investing Resources into the Future We Desire

L, an engineer working in the tech industry, offered another perspective on the act of donation: he likened his recurring support for JRF to a form of "venture capital" for an ideal society. He believes that while JRF cannot promise that two hundred dollars will feed a child the way social welfare groups do, what JRF is undertaking is a long-term value investment. L mentioned that after listening to an episode of *The Legalist Podcast* featuring interviews with political staffers, he realized that a country's resilience lies not in blindly following political parties, but in citizens' identification with the values of the rule of law. He deeply felt that amidst political turmoil and social division, civil society organizations must maintain independence to supervise the systemic black holes that political parties dare not touch.

This investment in a "vision" is also reflected in the cultivation of legal education. L and other interviewees particularly care about JRF's campus outreach work, especially the promotion of the Lay Assessor system and the principle of the "presumption of innocence." Rather than offering remedies after the fact, planting the concept of the rule of law deep through campus promotion while students' minds are still budding—especially now that the lay assessor system has been expanded—makes enhancing the public's legal literacy and critical thinking skills all the more crucial.

P, who works hard away from home, also shared that even as an "out-of-the-echo-chamber" individual with an IT background, she greatly appreciates JRF's "hard-nosed, strictly legal" professional image because it signifies that the organization relies on empirical research rather than mere emotional mobilization. For this group of "investors," the institutional reforms and educational engineering JRF is striving for, while requiring a long time to show results, are the most fundamental methods for transforming society's constitution.

The Strength to Move Forward Steadily: Why Monthly Small-Sum Recurring Donations Matter More Than One-Time Large Sums

When we asked what motivates the interviewees to make recurring donations to JRF, D shared that legal systems are not set in stone; rather, they constantly need adjustment as time, space, and societal needs evolve. He believes a healthy judicial environment cannot have only one voice. If everyone remains silent about unreasonable systems or stops caring because it is "too difficult," the judicial system loses its chance to become "better." He candidly admitted that many of JRF's statements are indeed sharp and that he does not agree with every single one of them, but he believes these dissenting views have professional reasons behind them. It is precisely these voices that consolidate people's needs, loosen rigid systems, and carve out space for change. Therefore, although JRF is often jested about having many "haters," he values this courage to uphold professionalism and think independently even more.

This courage to speak the truth must be built on a stable financial foundation, which is why "monthly small-sum recurring donations" are more important to JRF than "one-time large sums." One-time donations often flood in with the heat of specific social events and easily vanish with the changing winds; however, recurring donations bring a sense of stability to the organization's development. For P, recurring donations represent her endorsement of the organization's long-term and cross-disciplinary work, rather than mere focus on a single event. This steady, enduring support ensures that when JRF speaks out on unpopular, unappealing, or even controversial judicial issues, it does not need to retreat to cater to momentary public sentiment or the preferences of major donors.

W also mentioned that the benefit of recurring donations lies in their predictability. An expenditure of NT$1,000 per month does not impact his life, yet it enables JRF to plan longer-term actions in advance. C shared his philanthropic philosophy, noting that cutting back on two drinks a month has zero impact on daily life, yet investing that NT$200 into an idealistic organization creates a fermenting effect that quietly makes society better bit by bit without us even noticing. Whether it is monitoring the improvement of the judicial environment or rooting rule-of-law education in campuses, this anticipation of witnessing institutional progress is what drives these recurring donors to stay aboard JRF's ship despite inflation and economic fluctuations.

Read "2025 Recurring Donor Interviews (Part 2)"

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