Five awardees to receive $80 million to advance racial equity globally

MEDIA CONTACT:
Javon Dobbs, communications manager, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
communications@wkkf.org
269.969.2019

Alex Bryden, vice president, Porter Novelli
alexander.bryden@porternovelli.com
908.400.7056

Battle Creek, MI – Today, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) announced five awardees for its Racial Equity 2030 challenge, an open call for bold solutions to drive an equitable future for children, families and communities around the world. Over the next eight years, WKKF will contribute a total of $80 million to help build and scale actionable ideas for transformative change in the systems and institutions that uphold racial inequities.

“The bold work proposed by each of the awardees fills me with hope that together we can attack the roots of inequity in our communities and build a future in which all children can thrive,” said La June Montgomery Tabron, WKKF president and CEO. “But this change won’t happen unless we act, and I believe we must act now. I am excited to partner with these teams to address racism in their communities and support systemic change across the globe.”

The challenge was announced in 2020 during the 90^th anniversary of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and received 1,453 submissions from 72 countries. In September 2021, the Kellogg Foundation announced the top 10 finalists for the challenge, each of whom received a $1 million planning grant and nine months of capacity-building support, including advising from the Dalberg Group, to further develop their project and strengthen their application.

The five awardees announced today are advancing racial equity with unique approaches – from transforming education systems to healing communities and empowering historically marginalized Indigenous people.

The awardees are:

• The SETA Project: Transformative Anti Racist Education Systems in Brazil: In Brazil, where most of the population identifies as Black or mixed race, systemic racism persists. A coalition of organizations believe that while schools perpetuate the problem, they can also spearhead its eradication. ActionAid, the Brazilian National Campaign on the Right to Education, CONAQ, UneAFRO Brasil, Geledés, Makira-E’ta and Ação Educativa will work together to transform the Brazilian public school network into the world’s first anti-racist education system, harnessing youth, education and Black movements, and sparking a national healing process. Internationally, ActionAid and the University of Bristol’s Centre for Comparative and International Research in Education will mobilize a global network and promote racial equity as a priority in global education.
• Healing Through Justice: A Community-Led Breakthrough Strategy for Healing-Centered Communities in Illinois, U.S.A.: For many Black and Brown youth in Chicago, systemic racism has a profound impact on their mental health, as well as the well-being of their communities. Communities United and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago will bring to scale “Healing through Justice,” a youth-led movement for community healing through community engagement, leadership and advocacy training and the development of strategies for health system changes.
• Indigenous Lands Initiative: Securing Land Ownership Rights for Indigenous Communities in Mexico and Central and South America: The ability of Indigenous peoples to use and protect their land is under threat across the Americas, due to the harmful acts of illegal settlers, miners, drug traffickers and commercial interests, as well as governments’ failure to protect their rights. The Indian Law Resource Center, the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Amazon and the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon will build a permanent Indigenous-led institution to provide essential technical and legal assistance to help Indigenous peoples secure ownership of their lands and to speed up and improve Indigenous land titling processes in Mexico and Central and South America.
• Overcoming Environmental Racism by Knowing, Using and Shaping Law in Kenya, Sierra Leone and the U.S.: Throughout the world, marginalized communities of color disproportionally suffer the impacts of climate change and other environmental harm. Yet, they have little say in the making and implementation of the environmental laws that most affect them. Namati and its partners will 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. Globally, Namati and members of the Legal Empowerment Network will launch an international policy advocacy campaign and drive cross-border learning on grassroots environmental justice.
• Kawailoa: A Transformative Indigenous Model to End Youth Incarceration in Hawai’i and Beyond: In Hawai’i, young Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system. As a vulnerable population, they encounter setbacks that are indicative of systemic failures and generational challenges, including foster care, substance abuse, human trafficking and loss of loved ones. The Opportunity Youth Action Hawaiʻi collaborative, representing community-based and state entities (Partners in Development Foundation and its Kupa ʻAina Farm, Kinai ʻEha, Hale Lanipōlua, Residential Youth Services & Empowerment, Hawaiʻi Youth and Correctional Facility and Olomana School) at the Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center is committed to replacing youth incarceration with a Native Hawaiian restorative system that empowers communities, trains youth healers and shifts resources to community-driven and culturally-grounded sanctuaries of support.

The Racial Equity 2030 Challenge was managed in partnership with Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity and climate change.

“We are uplifted by the ambition and creativity of the projects proposed by these teams,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “We invite others across the philanthropic, public and private sectors to join forces in funding the awardees and other outstanding organizations that participated in Racial Equity 2030, in order to challenge the systems and institutions that uphold inequity around the world. We have an opportunity now to create ripples of impact throughout our global community to be felt for years to come.”

More information about the Racial Equity 2030 Challenge, the awardees, and the finalists can be found at wkkf.org/re2030.

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Lever for Change
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced more than $1 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org.