Racial Equity Funding Opportunity

Total Available: $1.5 million
Announced: March 23, 2022

NewSchools provides "dream capital" to innovators of color with bold ideas to advance racial equity in education. This was the first funding opportunity within NewSchools' Racial Equity investment area and marked the organization's first pilot of participatory grantmaking.

Focus Areas

The funding supports a range of ideas to advance racial equity in education outside of other NewSchools investment areas, including:

• Solutions for advancing educational opportunity and equity for students in Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities
• Access to mental health services
• Culturally relevant curricula
• Other innovative approaches to disrupt racial inequities

Special Features

Participatory Grantmaking Approach:

• A diverse council of 16 people, including students, parents, and education leaders of color from around the U.S., was in charge of developing investment criteria, reviewing applications, and allocating funds
• The council held decision-making power in the grantmaking process
• The president retained power to veto a grant if it wasn't in line with the fund's 501(c)(3) mission and eligibility criteria

Award Details

• Grant Amount: $150,000 per organization in unrestricted funding
• Target: 89% of grantees were solo entrepreneurs
• Support: Management assistance related to strategy, impact measurement, and entrepreneurial mindsets; membership in a community of practice

Target Population

• Half of allocated funds reserved for Black educator leaders
• Organizations founded by leaders of color

Example Grantees (10 organizations funded)

1. Black Girls Do STEM (St. Louis, MO) - STEM education and mentorship for Black girls
2. Detroit Heals (Detroit, MI) - Culturally-rooted trauma-informed care and wraparound services for youth
3. Firestarters (Ukiah, CA) - Environmental education and cultural revitalization for Indigenous youth
4. ALAS (New Orleans, LA) - Legal advocacy for undocumented students and students in court system
5. Hipeexnu' Kii'u Nuun Wisiix (Lapwai, ID) - Nez Perce language and cultural preservation
6. Love Your Magic (Boston, MA) - Supporting healthy development of Black and Brown girls
7. Mindcatcher (San Francisco, CA) - Transformative teaching and learning practices for educators
8. ProjectHEAL (Chicago, IL) - Antiracist, trauma-informed professional development for adults
9. The Transition Academy (Kansas City, MO) - College, career, and life skill programs for Black students with disabilities
10. TrueFiktion (Chicago, IL) - Comics and curriculum on U.S. history from perspective of marginalized groups

Contact Information

Address: 2648 International Blvd Ste 301, Oakland, CA 94601

Application Process

Based on 2022 cycle information:

• Application deadline was March 28, 2022 (for that cycle)
• Applications submitted through newschools.org

Participatory Grantmaking Review

• Applications reviewed and selected by the Racial Equity Council (diverse council of parents, students, and education innovators of color)
• Council determined selection criteria and made funding decisions

Note

This opportunity may not be currently active. Contact NewSchools for information about future Racial Equity funding cycles.