Grant Category: Education

Mesa Global Academy

Washington, DC

Amount granted: $37,500

Grant year: 2022

Grant category: Education

 

$37,500 to support the research and travel expenses of 5 new scholars participating in the Global Academy.

The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) represents the largest network of Middle Eastern, European, and North American scholars – across disciplines in the humanities and social sciences – specialized in the study of this region. MESA promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples through programs, publications, and services that enhance education, further intellectual exchange, recognize professional distinction, and defend academic freedom.  MESA has launched the MESA Global Academy, in conjunction with the SUNY Graduate Center in New York to harness the strengths of its network of institutional and individual members to sustain research collaborations and knowledge production between scholars from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and their counterparts outside the region.

Neighborhood House Charter School

Dorchester, MA

Amount granted: $20,000

Grant year: 2021

Grant category: Education

 

$20,000 to support the Kevin Andrews Leadership Institute which is designed to attract, support, and retain highly qualified teachers, particularly those from historically under-represented minority groups, by offering dynamic opportunities for classroom educators to grow their leadership skills while contributing to NHCS’ development as an anti-racist organization.

Neighborhood House Charter School (NHCS) is a tuition-free open enrollment charter school for grades K1-12 in Dorchester, MA that is a public alternative to traditional district schools. Neighborhood House Charter School serves a diverse population of learners: of its more than 800 students, 84% of students are Black, Latinx, or of multi-racial backgrounds, with 9% considered English Language Learners, 67% high needs, and 52% economically disadvantaged by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  It offers a full spectrum of programs including general education and full-inclusion as well as partial-inclusion and substantially-separate programs for small groups of students with significant disabilities. 

Ms. JD

Walnut, CA

Amount granted: $25,000

Grant year: 2021

Grant category: Education

 

$25,000 to launch its Women of Color Initiative with a specific focus on disrupting barriers to the advancement of women of color through law school and into their early careers. As a result of this initiative, the experiences of these women of color in law school will improve and they will be more likely to complete their education and launch sustaining careers in the profession.

Ms. JD seeks to support and improve the experiences of women law students and lawyers through its blog, programming, virtual course library, resources and online community of thousands of women in the profession. Its goal is to expand and retain, while eliminating barriers to, a robust, diverse pipeline of women in the legal profession in the U.S. by providing an accessible network of training, mentoring and support from pre-law through early career.

Karuna Center for Peace Building

Amherst, MA

Amount granted: $10,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Education

 

$10,000 to support the Erasure and Restoration lecture series, a community dialogue and lecture series on ‘Erasure and Restoration: An Exploration of Past and Present in the “Kwinitekw” River Valley’s Indigenous Communities’.

Karuna Center has 25 years of international experience in post-conflict healing and reconciliation in over 30 countries. Its mission is to empower people divided by conflict to develop mutual understanding and create sustainable peace and work where violent conflict has pitted ethnic or religious groups against each other, often examining the historical legacies left behind. Karuna Center leads initiatives to bridge damaging social and political divides and trains local leaders in conflict mitigation techniques.

www.karunacenter.org

Boston Collegiate Charter School

Boston, MA

Amount granted: $25,550`

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Education

 

$25,550 to allow the school to purchase literacy intervention reading systems for all grades that will be available to all students who are learning remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Founded in 1998, BCCS serves a diverse student body of 700 students from Boston in grades five through 12 and maintains a waitlist of over 1,700 students. Its mission is to prepare each student for college by providing high quality differentiated instruction to all students. All BCCS students receive challenging college-preparatory and career exploration programming, which begins in fifth grade and extends beyond graduation to include robust alumni support.

www.bostoncollegiate.org

A Better Chance

New York, NY

Amount granted: $20,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Education

 

$20,000 to provide support to overcome important challenges that are a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the physical distancing necessary to achieve one goal: the retention of all of its 2,206 Scholars.

Since 1963, A Better Chance has been opening the door to educational opportunities for thousands of young people of color in this nation. Its mission is to increase the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society.

www.abetterchance.org

Council of Urban Professionals

New York, NY

Amount granted: $50,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Education

 

To support The CUP Fellows Program, a yearlong transformative leadership development training program for early-to-mid career professionals of color across sectors who are deeply committed to supporting their communities through impactful contributions to the nonprofit and public sectors.

The Council of Urban Professionals’ (CUP) mission is to inspire, elevate, and empower the next generation of diverse business and civic leaders. Now in its 13th year, CUP supports the career progression of professional women and people of color in New York and Los Angeles by: 1) delivering compelling skill-building programs focused on accelerating careers and enhancing visibility, and 2) curating groups of top diverse professionals for impactful conversations and networking opportunities that result in community building, thought leadership, business development and a platform for recognizing diverse talent and inspiring service. 

Academy of the Pacific Rim

Boston, MA

Amount granted: $45,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Education

 

To provide emergency support for the school to address food insecurity, access to technology and micro-grants to alumni in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Academy of the Pacific Rim (APR) is a charter public school serving 540 students in grades 5-12 in Hyde Park, a neighborhood in Boston. Its mission is to “empower students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds to achieve their full intellectual and social potential.” This vision is accomplished by holding students to high expectations and standards academically and ensuring that all students have the supports and opportunities to develop socially and emotionally. APR programs move students along a path that consistently leads to agency and further education.

Apollo Theater

New York, NY

Amount granted: $50,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant categories: Education, Visual Arts and Music

 

To support the Pathways Program, which includes apprentice and internships programs for underserved youth in the arts, production and arts administration.  

The Apollo Theater is one of the most legendary and influential cultural forces in America.  Its mission is to preserve and develop the Theater through world class live performances and education programs that: 1) honor the influence and advance the contributions of African-American artists; and 2) advance emerging creative voices across cultural and artistic media. Since it opened 86 years ago, the Apollo remains a leading arts organization in NYC, a community anchor and economic driver for Harlem, a global touch point for African American culture, and one of the world’s most well-known, enduring and well-recognized brands.

The Prepatory Foundation for Boston Prep

Boston, MA

Amount granted: $35,000

Grant year: 2020

Grant category: Education

 

To support the addition of an Alumni Counselor in its Persistence Project that helps Boston Prep graduates successfully navigate the college experience, as well as to provide support for the Persistence Project’s micro-grant program.

The Preparatory Foundation directly supports the operation of Boston Prep, a Commonwealth charter school, accepting Boston students via a public lottery and serving them in grades six through twelve with a mission to prepare students to succeed in four-year colleges and to embody, in thought and action, lifelong ethical growth.

Over the past year, Boston Prep completed a robust research project to better understand the factors associated with college success. That research revealed several factors associated with success, including active coaching for college students, rapid credit accumulation, deep engagement on campus, and having a “posse” for support.   In response to these findings, Boston Prep is launching a pilot of a redesigned Persistence Project, an ongoing program that provides intensive support to students in college.