NewSchools’ Racial Equity Council has selected a group of innovators to receive $1.5 million in funding. These innovators are disrupting racial inequities and advancing the wellbeing and achievement of students in Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities.
Even in normal times, raising money from philanthropy for a new organization or innovative idea is an arduous and intimidating process. But things aren’t normal right now, and for many innovators, fundraising feels harder than ever.
Participatory grantmaking: It isn’t a term that rolls off the tongue, and yet many people in the philanthropy world are talking about it these days. It describes the process of including community members in grantmaking decisions. As GrantCraft put it in a 2018 report, “participatory grantmaking cedes decision-making power about funding—including the strategy and criteria behind those decisions—to the very communities that funders aim to serve.”
The past year has laid bare the pernicious effects of structural racism and its impact on people of color, especially Black Americans. Through George Floyd’s life and death, and the recent trial, we are reminded of the moral imperative of racial justice. Yesterday’s verdict brings some measure of accountability. But there is much more work to be done.
