2011
Pershing Square Capital Management, fully divested its CCA holdings of over 7 million shares worth $180 million.
2012
The Pension Board of the United Methodist Church—the largest faith-based pension fund in the U.S.—announced divestment of all its private prison holdings, worth $1 million.
Stopped Construction of Proposed Immigrat Detention Facility in Southwest Ranches, FL
Podesta Group, a powerful lobbying firm in Washington D.C., dropped GEO Group as a client.
General Electric fully divested its nearly 2.7 million shares in CCA worth over $78 million.
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) created a portfolio screen that affirmed a statement they made in 2003 to oppose private prisons. The resolution also encourages individual Presbyterians and congregations to divest from private prisons.
Stopped Construction of Proposed Immigrant Detention Facility in Crete, IL
2013
Systematic Financial Management LP fully divested from private prisons by dumping $98 million worth of CCA and GEO Group shares.
Florida Atlantic University students prevented GEO Group from donating $6 million to their university and gaining naming rights to their stadium.
Amica fully divested over $1 million worth of GEO stock, and DSM Netherlands fully divested $2.5 million worth of CCA and GEO stock.
Wells Fargo & Company divested 80% of its aggregate holdings in the GEO Group since the start of our campaign.
2014
5 University of California campuses passed divestment resolutions at the student senate level, in preparation for full UC Regents divestment.
Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Church moved its money out of Wells Fargo due to the company’s private prison ties.
Scopia, a long-time Million Shares Club member, completed its divestment of 6 million shares of GEO Group stock held in 2013, worth $202 million.
Sit Investment Associates fully divested over $20,000 from the private prison industry.
Portland City Council adopted Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Policy to include human rights abuses by corporations like Private Prisons, and voted to include directly impacted people on the SRI committee.
2015
New York State United Teachers adopted a resolution to investigate current pension investments in prisons and to move immediately to divest from prisons.
Columbia University became the very first university in the country to divest its endowment from the private prison industry. Columbia divested $10 million in holdings from CCA and G4S.
Hampshire College amended the language of its institutional investment policy to include private prisons on a list of specific examples of industries not favored for investing.
The California Endowment divested from companies that derive significant annual revenue from the operation of private prisons, jails, detention centers and correctional facilities.
Afrikan Black Coalition successfully pressures the University of California school system to fully divest from private prisons.
Hamlin Capital Management, LLC, a long-time holder of more than 1 million shares of CCA stock, fully divested its holdings worth $31.6 million in the third quarter of 2015. ING Groep divested over a million shares of GEO stock, worth $57.5 million, and Makaira Partners LLC divested $35.1 million worth of stock in CCA.
2016
California State University Los Angeles announced that it will divest from private prisons and reinvest in Black scholars and students of color.
Portland Socially Responsible Investments Committee voted to divest from Wells Fargo and the Bank of NY Mellon, due to their role as a Million Shares Club member of private prisons. Portland City Council voted to temporarily halt all investments in prison lenders and all other corporations for the first quarter of 2017.
City of Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission passes resolution in April to divest from private prisons. In July, the City of Berkeley adopted a resolution to divest city funds from private prisons and to send a letter to Wells Fargo and other Million Shares Club members that the city does business with, asking them to divest immediately from the private prison industry.
Stopped GEO Group from building For-Profit Re-entry Facility in South Los Angeles, CA
Private prison and security company G4S announced the sale of its youth jail contracts and its Israeli subsidiaries.
Oregon Education Association, representing pre-K to 12th grade teachers, passes a resolution to push for divestment of the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) from prisons and their major investors.
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the Ending Tax Breaks for Private Prisons Act of 2016 on July 14, 2016. If passed, the legislation would end Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) tax breaks for companies that derive their income from the operations and maintenance of prisons.
The Brooklyn Community Foundation announced that their divestment from private prisons.
Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department moved to phase the use of private prisons.
2017
University of California terminates $475 million worth of contracts with Wells Fargo due to powerful organizing by Afrikan Black Coalition supported by Enlace.
The City of Seattle divests $3 billion from major prison lender and Dakota Access Pipeline financier, Wells Fargo.
The City of Portland ends all corporate investments due to intersectional organizing for prison divestment, indigenous rights in Palestine and the U.S., and fossil fuel divestment. The City commits to terminate its banking contract with Wells Fargo and to conduct a feasibilty study to create a municipal bank.
Oregon Senator Kathleen Taylor introduces Senate Bill 1005 to divest the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System from private prisons and the Million Shares Club, aiming to turn the Oregon Education Association’s resolution into law.
The City of Alameda divests $36 million from its accounts at Wells Fargo for its role in financing the Dakota Access Pipeline and private prisons.
New York City’s pension system becomes the first in the nation to fully divest from private prisons, dumping about $48 million worth of stock and bonds from GEO Group, CoreCivic Inc. (CCA) and G4S.
Georgetown Students for a Radically Ethical Endowment (GU F.R.E.E.) push Georgetown University to state that going forward the university will not own investments in private prison companies and will encourage its external investment managers to avoid investments in these companies.
SU Prison Divest pressured Standford University to publicly state that they have no prison investments, and to initiate a full review of the Investment Responsibility policy and procedures. SU Prison Divest continues to pressure University to divest from prison investors and profiteers.
Princeton Private Prison Divest (PPPD) pressured the university vice president to state the endowment has not and will not invest in private prisons, and that a resolution to make that binding may still be brought forward.
University of Southern Florida Divest won a student referendum to divest the university’s foundation from fossil fuels, private prisons and companies complicit in human rights violations. USF Divest continues to pressure the universiy president to enact the student referendum.
The City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement divests $1.16 million from private prison companies CoreCivic, GEO Group, and G4S.
Responding to years of organizing by immigrant communities, California Governor Brown signed into law SB 29, the Dignity Not Detention Bill. The Dignity Not Detention Bill is a critical step towards ending for-profit immigrant detention in California, and provides a model for other states to follow.
In October 2017, the Supreme Court denied a petition by private prison corporations seeking to block the release of government documents about their immigration detention practices. The Freedom of Information Act case was originally brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and Detention Watch Network (DWN). The Supreme Court’s decision let stand the federal district court ruling in July 2016, that the government must release details of its contracts with private prison corporations.
At its 2017 convention, the AFL-CIO adopted Resolution 25 that resolves, “AFL-CIO, its affiliates and state federations promote federal, state and local legislation, policies and practices that end the for-profit pipeline of correctional facilities or services.”
The Interfaith Bank Boycott coordinated $1 million divestment from prison lenders as a means to pressure Congress to pass a clean DREAM Act. Faith and non-profit organizations that have ended their banking contracts with Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase include: Glenmary Catholic Priests, NAKASEC, and Franciscan Action Network.
2018
Los Angeles drops its $4 million per year banking contract with Wells Fargo after they fail to pass the city’s Community Reinvestment Act, which encourages banks to operate and lend in low-income and minority communities.
New York State divested its nearly $10 million in pension investments from private prisons corporations, The Geo Group and CoreCivic.
American Federation of Teachers ended its member benefits mortgage program with Wells Fargo for their support of the gun industry, and issued Part 1 of a follow-up report recommending Wells Fargo for divestment due to their support of the prison industry.
Chicago Teachers to Ban Pension’s Private Prison Investments.
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) voted to divest more than $12 million from GEO Group and CoreCivic.
2019
JP Morgan Chase to stop financing the prison industry.
Wells Fargo announces it will cut ties with the prison industry.
New York State Senate passed Bill S5433, prohibiting banks chartered in the state, whether US or international, from financing private prisons.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) introduced legislation on Thursday June 13 to end tax exemptions for private prison companies known as REIT [Real Estate Investment Trust]
Bank of America Corp., the second-biggest U.S. bank, will stop lending to companies that run private prisons and detention centers
On June 26th, Workers of Wayfair, the e-commerce giant with the catchy jingle, walked out of the company’s Back Bay offices today in protest of the company’s decision to sell furniture to operators of facilities for migrant children detained at the border
SunTrust Banks Inc., the company merging with BB&T Corp., said it won’t provide future financing to companies that manage private prisons and immigration holding facilities
The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), one of Canada’s biggest pension funds, divested from two private prison operators responsible for the detention of thousands of migrants along the US-Mexico border. CPPIB divested US$8m in stock in Geo Group and CoreCivic
John Hopkins students stage month long sit in to call to cancel its plan for creating a private police force and to end its contracts with ICE
Six banks (JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, SunTrust, BNP Paribas, and Fifth Third Bancorp) representing an estimated $1.93 billion, or 72% of the total current financing available to private prison companies, CoreCivic and GEO Group announced they will no longer provide future financing to these companies
Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign launches a Just Reinvestment Fund to redistribute Harvard’s wealth to local organizations that are working toward building wealth for black, brown, and poor communities.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB32 on Friday October 11th, barring California from keeping prisoners in privately run lockups starting in 2028.
The largest public pension fund in the United States, California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) announced it will divest $10.8 million from the two major for-profit prison companies running migrant detention facilities for the federal government.
2020
The Rhode Island public pension fund announced it will stop investing in companies that either operate private for-profit prisons or make assault-style weapons that are sold to civilians.
Prison Industry Divestment Movement 