Ten finalists have been announced for W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Racial Equity 2030 Challenge which is awarding $90 million to help build and scale actionable transformative change in the systems and institutions that uphold racial inequities, according to the philanthropic foundation.
"The overwhelming response of this Challenge has demonstrated the urgency of racial equity in nearly every corner of the world," said La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, in a statement. "Each of these visionary finalists embodies a deep commitment to community and local leadership. We're proud to partner with them as they unveil their bold and game changing solutions to advance racial equity in the next decade."
Each of the 10 finalist teams will receive a one-year $1 million planning grant, which includes nine months of capacity-building support to further develop their project and strengthen their application.
Among the finalists, five awards totaling $80 million will be announced in the summer of 2022. Three awardees will each receive a $20 million grant and two awardees will each receive a $10 million grant. Grants will be paid out over eight years to coincide with W.K. Kellogg Foundation's 100th anniversary in 2030.
The 10 finalists' projects include:
574+ Strong: Creating Regenerative Food Economies in Indian Country. The Intertribal Agriculture Council and partners will address poverty and food insecurity in Native communities through programmatic and policy solutions that build regenerative and just food economies.
50,000 Pastoralist Women: Agents for Change, Transforming Communities. Pastoral Women's Council, Ujamaa Community Resource Team, and Engishon Microfinance Ltd., will support pastoralist women in Tanzania to address root causes of oppression, thereby transforming society to achieve social and economic justice for all.
Building a Bigger Table for Latinos in the South. The Latino Community Development Center and Latino Community Credit Union will ensure a seat at the table for Latinos in the New South by leveraging this model of financial inclusion, civic engagement, and cultural pride.
Building an Anti-Racist Public Education System in Brazil. ActionAid, the Brazilian National Campaign on the Right to Education, CONAQ, UneAFRO Brasil, Geledés, and Ação Educativa will work together to transform the Brazilian school network into the world's first anti-racist education system harnessing youth, education, and black movements and triggering a national healing process.
Ending Systemic Labor Exploitation. This project will enable migrant worker-led community-building, advocacy, and activism to end migrant worker exploitation and achieve greater racial equity.
Healing Through Justice: A Community-Led Breakthrough Strategy for Healing-Centered Communities in Illinois. Communities United and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago will bring to scale "Healing through Justice," a youth-led movement for healing to make breakthroughs in supporting and sustaining community-led approaches to healing-centered communities.
High Road Kitchens for Racial Equity and One Fair Wage in the U.S. One Fair Wage will expand its High Road Kitchens program to provide restaurants with subsidies if they commit to its Racial Equity Toolkit & Training Program, which trains restaurants to desegregate their staff racially and raise wages for workers of color. The team will work with the U.S. Department of Labor to make this a federal program, supporting thousands of restaurants to increase wages and racial equity for hundreds of thousands of workers.
Indigenous Lands Initiative: Securing Land Ownership Rights for Indigenous Communities in Mexico and Central and South America. The Indian Law Resource Center, the Interethnic Association of the Development of the Peruvian Amazon, and the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon will design and build an indigenous-led institution that provides essential technical and legal assistance to help Indigenous peoples secure ownership of their lands and works to speed up and improve Indigenous land titling processes in Mexico and Central and South America.
Kawailoa: A Transformative Indigenous Model to End Youth Incarceration in Hawaii and Beyond. Partners In Development Foundation and partners (Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center, UCLA Asian American Studies Center, UH John A. Burns School of Medicine, Kamehameha Schools, Lili'uokalani Trust) will replace youth incarceration with a Native Hawaiian restorative system that trains youth and empowers community.
Overcoming Environmental Racism by Knowing, Using, and Shaping Law in Kenya, India, Sierra Leone, and the U.S. Namati, its partners, and members of the Legal Empowerment Network equip frontline communities with the power of law, so they can protect their own well-being and, ultimately, make systems of environmental governance more equitable.
Related: Feeding America, Starbucks Announce Food Access Grants; Racial Equity Challenge to Award $90 Million.
Image: W.K. Kellogg Foundation