Who We Are
Communities for Just Schools Fund is a national collaborative that links philanthropy with the power of grassroots organizing to transform schools. CJSF was started in 2010 by individuals in philanthropy who understood that, in the ecosystem of education justice, grassroots organizers are the least resourced and the most impactful. We are part of an arc that began with Black parents in Mississippi demanding change in their schools. Their children were being pushed out of school, disproportionately disciplined, and arrested for reasons that defied explanation except as symptoms of a pervasive system of racial hierarchy.
A movement was born to end the school-to-prison pipeline.
Thanks to that movement, public will began to shift. We started to see decreases in suspensions and expulsions and school-based arrests because of organizers' work and demands. CJSF is determined to make sure that public education takes the road that has been dreamt and engineered by communities, led by organizers. We are committed to doing our part to ensure that conversations about school safety center holistic safety and are grounded in organizer demands and expertise.
Click above to read our 2022 annual report.
How are we making a difference?
We bring together the resources of philanthropy with the power of grassroots organizing to ensure that schools welcome all students and nurture their full potential.
FUND
We fund organizations that change schools and the system of education through community organizing. We fund first, providing multi-year general operating support to 80 grassroots organizing groups in 25 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Washington, D.C.
CONNECT
We are dot-connectors. We foster relationships between our partners and philanthropy, policy, research, advocacy, national movement leaders, and others.
BUILD
We build the capacity of our partners by supporting their strategic know-how on everything from communications to data analysis and curating spaces for strategy construction and learning.
LEAD
We lead efforts, together with our partners, to make community-rooted holistic school safety and positive school climate a priority for philanthropic organizations, policymakers, and national allies. See Do the Harder Work and Reclaim Social-Emotional Learning
