We envision a community whole and a community healed.
The Northwest Community Bail Fund (NCBF) is working to ensure that people accused of crimes have an opportunity to defend themselves from a position of freedom.
What we do
NCBF provides cash bail for those who cannot afford it with no strings attached. In addition to accomplishing short term harm reduction, we also advocate for long term systemic change to abolish cash bail and pretrial detention.
Provide Bail
People are innocent until proven guilty. We provide bail support for people who are stuck in jail awaiting trial simply because they can’t afford bail set by a judge. We post bail in King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties.
Community Building
We build power by being in relationship with directly impacted communities, volunteers and values-aligned groups and organizations, participating in and hosting community education events, and supporting anti-racist and anti-oppression organizing efforts.
Advocate
Help us dismantle pretrial detention and eliminate cash bail through policy advocacy, legislative change, and community education. You can also join us in local courtrooms monitoring legal proceedings collecting data to build evidence about the discriminatory and harmful impacts of cash bail and pretrial detention.
Impact
So far, in 2025, we've…..
Updated July 2025
Freed
355
people from Jail
The average bail is
$2,981
The total amount posted so far
$1,058,160
Misson Statement
The Northwest Community Bail Fund (NCBF) aims to abolish cash bail and pretrial detention.
We reduce the harm caused by the cash bail system by posting bail, at no cost, for community members who cannot otherwise afford it, providing them with the opportunity to defend themselves from a position of freedom. NCBF prioritizes bail assistance for our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+, particularly transgender, community members: those at greatest risk in our current criminal punishment system.
Why it’s Important
The Problem: Bail isn’t working.
Bail is supposed to accomplish one purpose–to make sure that people charged with crimes return to court to face justice. But that’s not the reality. The truth is that bail creates two systems of criminal justice in Washington: one for people who can afford bail, and one for people who can’t.
The reality: Bail isn’t working.
Unable to make as little as $100 bail, poor people accused of crimes in Washington State face a stark choice: stay in jail and fight the case, or plead guilty and go home. This creates a situation in which innocent people plead guilty to get out of jail because they can’t afford to pay the bail.
The result: Bail isn’t working.
When people are charged with crimes and can’t get out on bail, they are stuck in a cycle. By allowing people to defend themselves from a position of freedom, it increases their chances of keeping their job, housing, and children.
Join us!
Help Us Reduce The Harm Of Cash Bail
The Northwest Community Bail Fund relies on volunteers and donors for a wide array of tasks with a range of time commitments.