The Oregon Community Foundation, or OCF, awarded capacity-building grants to 30 Black-led organizations working to advance education for Black students this year. The goal is to empower students and build a stronger educational system. These grants, according to recipients, create a world of possibilities.
The capacity-building grants started with a three-year conversation; an “advisory think tank” called the Oregon Black Student Success Community Network, or OBSSCN, created by OCF.
“We are building networks, supporting advocacy and partnerships,” Marcy Bradley, OCF vice president of equity and culture, said. “We are helping to develop pipelines, getting young Black students to become educators and administrators. As we allow the community to lead, we come up with incredible pieces of work.
“We have to begin to grow the programs and leadership that it takes to transform the system. Community leadership is full of immensely talented individuals.”
The OBSSCN is an initiative of 24 organizations throughout Oregon that came together in 2020 for an ongoing discussion about how to best serve the needs of Black students in Pre-K through college. This work is aimed at making positive changes while addressing discrepancies in education.
Each of the 24 organizations in the OBSSCN received $20,000 yearly from OCF and other philanthropic groups. This funding allowed leaders the time to meet and collaborate with each other while keeping their organizations going.
Mark Jackson, executive director of REAP Inc., a “multicultural youth leadership program committed to empowering the next wave of leaders,” said the $20,000 of annual funding and collaboration offered in OBSSCN had numerous benefits.
“With OCF funding, there are game-changing opportunities to work in partnership with education and our systems,” Jackson said. “It creates an opportunity for compassion building. We’ve been able to reach the broad community in partnership with a state agency. That’s huge.”
KairosPDX, an organization dedicated to empowering children and closing the achievement gap, was another of the 24 organizations in the inaugural OBSSCN cohort. Terry-Ann Cabine, chief administrative officer, said the opportunities for collaboration and information sharing within the OBSSCN have been invaluable.
“We have the opportunity to connect with other leaders with similar goals, deepen our understanding of each member’s mission and consider new approaches and possibilities,” Cabine said. “It is refreshing to be able to collaborate with other culturally specific organizations serving our community.”
Throughout the three-year OBSSCN initiative, members helped OCF understand how to best respond and help youth-serving organizations. The next step? Building capacity in organizations like those within the OBSSCN initiative.
OCF capacity-building grants
OCF offered capacity-building grants for 30 organizations in 2023 to focus on improving education and support for Black students. Any groups, including those already a part of the OBSSCN, could compete for the grants. Organizations requested up to $50,000 per year for a total of $150,000 over three years.
In the application process, each group clarified how it would use funding to expand staff, facilities, and training or to address other needs. A committee of state, local and community leaders and the OCF board approved applications.
Street Roots interviewed staff with five organizations about changes the new funding will facilitate, but a full list of grant recipients can be found on OCF’s website.
Beaverton Black Parent Union (BBPU)
The BBPU, founded in 2019, is a volunteer-led collective of families with Black children in Beaverton schools creating resources and programming for Black students.
The BBPU, currently under fiscal sponsorship, is receiving $35,000 in the first year of funding, which it will apply toward gaining 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to be eligible for additional grants as a nonprofit.
“We hope to grow and become identified as our own nonprofit,” Tafena Timpson, BBPU director, said. “We are open to various funding opportunities that will help us get established as a standalone community-based organization and prosper so that we can continue to empower Black people and other marginalized communities in West Portland.”
OCF funding will also help the group as it seeks to expand from only two part-time employees — a director and an organizing consultant. The organization hopes to hire fundraising staff.
Despite only having two part-time staffers currently, BBPU provides programming like the Umoja Black Graduate Celebration. The celebration honors Black high school graduates in Washington County, and those in alternative programs or working toward a GED. Participants receive a Kente cloth stole in a ceremony that ushers them into adulthood. The colors white, black and gold represent purity, maturation of spiritual energy and prosperity with future endeavors.
With a focus on leadership, BBPU also helps to build Black Student Unions in schools.
“I would love to brag on our Black Student Union leaders,” Timpson said. “Through COVID, they are trying to navigate the new normal.”
BBPU offers other resources focused on wellness, like monthly workshops for teens and children of all ages to focus on mental wellness in partnership with the Sankofa Center for Healing in Portland. Parents find support here with discussions at monthly meetings called the Parent Cafe.
BBPU also hosts celebrations for Black History Month, Kwaanza and Juneteenth. Its Soul Strolls program gets people outside for nature walks, roller skating or exploring parks.
I Am M.O.R.E. (Making Ourselves Resilient Everyday)
Author, educator and former Oregonian columnist S. Renee Mitchell started this organization in 2019 to help young people who experienced trauma build resilience.
I Am M.O.R.E. is receiving $40,000 in the first year of funding to add a strategic planner along with other administrative services to accommodate the rapid growth of the organization. With this grant, Mitchell will be able to add to her staff of six. A strategic planner will help with the future of the organization.
“I started this organization in 2019, and it has grown with national conferences and presentations,” Mitchell said. “I started with an idea and kept working. Now I need a person to help with work so I can be purposeful about where I put my energy.”
Healing from trauma is the essential component of the organization’s youth programs, which include mindfulness, storytelling, listening circles and workshops. Youth share their experiences through videos and storytelling, addressing the obstacles they have faced on their journey toward empowerment. I Am M.O.R.E. also provides training for educators and other professionals to learn about ways that trauma affects the relationship between children and adults.
Mitchell’s approach is research- and evidence-based work to gain sustainable results for youth. She believes building bridges and not working in isolation is a more effective way of doing the work.
Mitchell said her intention is to strategically connect with other organizations that have a similar mission of serving and empowering Black youth. This will strengthen her programs and leverage what they’ve accomplished.
KairosPDX
KairosPDX, founded in 2012, places children and families of color at the center of its work. It builds community and family engagement while serving the needs of youth.
KairosPDX is receiving $40,000 in the first year of funding and plans to offer the community more technology access and staff to build on existing programs.
“COVID opened our eyes to everybody, and you have to stay on top of technology as an organization,” CEO Marsha Williams said.
In addition to a learning academy, free preschool and summer school, KairosPDX has a government affairs branch working on educational policy at the city, county and state levels. This engagement can help to close the racial and opportunity gaps for kids in Pre-K through fifth grade.
With culturally responsive teaching models, KairosPDX serves 78% children of color, mostly Black children. Williams said the organization is working to change the narrative of Black education, and the OCF funding will impact this change.
“We believe in our kids,” Williams said. “The fact that we call them leaders is really big. They own that. Our kids have pride about who they are.”
KairosPDX is intentional about building on students’ strengths and providing positive examples. Every room in the KairosPDX charter school is named after a historically Black college or university. Alumni sometimes visit and share their accomplishments.
REAP
REAP gives children in grades three-through-12 facing economic challenges opportunities to become leaders. It was founded in 2001 by two friends who care about youth reaching their potential, Levell Thomas and Mark Jackson. Building relationships with students, staff, teachers, parents and community members is key at REAP.
REAP is receiving $40,000 in the first year of funding and will start a behavioral health program for staff members to build their credentials. With this training, staff will be better equipped to serve the students they work with at a time when they need support.
“In the era of COVID-19, we are supporting a different type of student,” Mark Jackson, executive director, said.
He stressed the importance of mental health services and referenced the increasing suicide rate among Black people. Staff are trained in mental health first aid but also work to raise awareness about trauma for educators. The programs in REAP build students up from the inside out.
There are a disproportionate number of behavioral referrals for students of color in public schools. The Reflections program helps students with discipline problems to keep up with school work and stay calm and focused through mindfulness practices. They also work to make schools more inclusive.
Students learn teamwork through the Solutions program. Among other skills, this 10-month leadership program emphasizes writing, reading and speaking so they can succeed in their schools and communities.
Throughout the programs is the theme of self-awareness and leadership. Although REAP serves all students, the Renaissance program is specifically for anyone who identifies as a male of color, providing peer support. Black studies, business and coding are taught to students ages 10 through 14 at the Journey Academy, giving them a head start with these skills.
REAP aims to develop the next wave of leaders throughout Gresham, Portland, Tigard, Tualatin, St. Helens, North Clackamas and Beaverton. The OCF funding will allow it to build on its existing programs and keep services going.
“We move at the speed of trust,” Jackson said.
Strengthening communities and building confidence in young people who may struggle bring this work together. REAP serves 1,000 students a year.
Y.O.U.TH (Youth Organized and United to Help)
Y.O.U.TH, founded in 2010, began as a response to the death of a 14-year-old killed by gun violence. This nonprofit seeks to end the “school-to-prison pipeline” through “#BooksNotBarsOR” programming, which includes literacy, advocacy, mentoring, training and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
With $30,000 of OCF funding in the first year, Y.O.U.TH hired a part-time communications and development coordinator in February to run social media, manage a database and write a monthly newsletter. This hire lightens the workload for founder and Executive Director Imani Muhammad and helps her to focus on the programs she oversees.
“The blessing of this capacity grant is that the outside perspective can shed light on blind spots while I am saturated with my story,” Muhammad said. “We have a grant writer who serves as development director who can be compensated for her work with writing 70% of our grants.”
Muhammad emphasizes that #BooksNotBarsOR is the heart of Y.O.U.TH. tutoring. Muhammad said access to books students enjoy build literacy skills among third graders while honoring their cultural backgrounds. Y.O.U.TH hosts monthly literacy nights for families and book giveaways. Literacy is one way to disrupt the cycle of poverty, the organization's website states.
Y.O.U.TH offers parent coaching as well as training for teachers about the impact of implicit bias. Mentoring programs build life skills and self-esteem among students of all ages.
This work, with help from the OCF funding, keeps the mission alive; to help Black and brown students navigate school systems and to open the doors to them.
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