CINCINNATI, Ohio– Social justice has always been the mission of Beloved Community Church in Cincinnati.


What You Need To Know


  • Beloved Community Church has created a bail fund for protesters

  • They have already raised over $150,000 towards the fund

  • They ultimately want to make a permanent bail fund for all people who are arrested

So when church pastor Nelson Pierce was presented with the idea to create a bail fund for arrested protesters, he immediately stepped up to the plate and started working on a plan.

“I called up our accountant,” said Pierce. “I called up our leaders, and everybody agreed that we could do it. So while I was there waiting to do the training, we just set up the fund and asked people to donate.

In just a week, the church has already raised over $150,000 toward bail bonds. This is all through the help of community donations and a partnership with other organizations.

“People have spread the word about this, and they’ve been sharing it through social media, through Facebook and Instagram, and partners have come and found us to partner with us on this, and it’s just been amazing,” he said.

Pastor Pierce says it’s so important for them to bail out these protesters because they are putting their life on the line for the right reasons.

“They are willing to sacrifice themselves to speak a message of justice in the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota but also for the actions of the police in Cincinnati and that are happening around the country,” he said. “So anybody who is willing to do that needs support.”

And it’s not just protesters he believes should receive bail assistance. He says that not having the money for bail could have a huge impact on someone’s life.

“Sitting in jail can literally ruin somebody’s life before they are even accused of anything, and then if you’re found not guilty, you now have to rebuild your entire life because of the impact of sitting in jail,” said Pierce.

That is why the church is looking to do even more.

“Our hope is that we’ll be able to take this energy and momentum to create a permanent bail bond in Cincinnati so that we can continue this work even beyond the protest.”

Beloved Community Church is one of several other churches across Ohio that have also created bail funds. For more information, visit bailfunds.github.io.