Communities for Just Schools Fund
CJSF Community Partners
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CJSF’s partner network continues to offer us all a bold and liberatory vision for education that transcends our current understanding of what is possible. It is because of organizers that we know what can exist when love is at the center and when we move beyond policing that confines and constricts the beauty and genius of Black and Brown people's humanity, culture, and existence.
CJSF Community (Grantee) Partners: The organizations that CJSF supports are advancing our mission to bring together the resources of philanthropy with the power of grassroots organizing to ensure that all schools welcome students and nurture their full potential. Of significant note and in light of CJSF's mission and vision, we also are pleased that where possible and where aligned with desired strategic outcomes for justice in education, CJSF grants to core community partners (in two cohorts) will be: (1) two-year grants rather than one-year grants; (2) general operating support grants rather than project support grants; and (3) a minimum of $50,000 to each grantee in the form of grant dollars and technical assistance and capacity-building supports.
CJSF Place-based Initiative Partners: As part of its Education Anew Strategic Plan, CJSF is developing a place-based focus that will accompany its extensive national reach. CJSF is working with groups on the ground to develop place-based strategies in Washington, D.C.; Miami, Florida; and the Mississippi Delta, places with differing levels of organizing infrastructure, policy development, and mix of traditional and public charter schools. Going deeper in these places with local funding partners will allow us to (a) learn from the organizing work happening on the ground in those places, (b) identify key cross-sector partnerships for education equity, (c) examine organizing in different charter school environments, and (d) begin to craft a set of assessment tools for measuring success of community organizing to effect change at the classroom level.
CJSF Rapid Response Partners: Rapid Response grantmaking resources efforts related to opportunities and challenges that arise in activity to advance education equity, dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, and ensure healthy and equitable school climates. CJSF provides rapid response grants to support groups in moving fast to address those opportunities and challenges. CJSF typically sets aside $150,000 per year for rapid response purposes with plans to support 1-2 larger rapid response initiatives and 5-15 smaller initiatives annually. Eligible recipients are current partners and network partners. Rapid response grantmaking has proven to be an effective onboarding approach when we are able to increase the size of our general support grantmaking partner network.
CJSF National Network & Convening Partners: CJSF also makes strategic grants to national alliances and convenings focused on education justice and/or emerging issues relevant to the field. Our network partners are organizations and/or coalitions that our grantee partners engage with regularly and that are instrumental to advancing the systemic reform efforts of our core grantee partners. Grants to network partners and convenors must include some interaction and support with and for CJSF’s grantee partners.