In October 2022, 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 worldwide. Over the next eight years, WKKF will contribute $80 million to help build and scale the actionable ideas for transformative change in systems that uphold racial inequities.
The challenge was announced in 2020, the 90th anniversary year 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 to further develop their project and strengthen their application.
“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, president and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. “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 awardees are:
Partners In Development Foundation
Kawailoa, a transformative model to end youth incarceration in Hawai’i and beyond is led by Partners in Development in collaboration with Opportunity Youth Action Hawai’i. Young Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system. The Opportunity Youth Action Hawai’i collaborative 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.
ActionAid Brazil
The SETA Project works to create a transformative antiracist education system in Brazil, harnessing youth, education, and Black movements to spark 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.
Namati
Overcoming Environmental Racism by Knowing, Using, Shaping Law Initiative, led by Namati, equips community members with the knowledge of the law to protect themselves and ultimately make systems of environmental governance more equitable. Globally, Namati and members of the Legal Empowerment Network will launch an international policy campaign and drive cross-border learning on grassroots environmental justice.
Communities United
Communities United’s Healing Through Justice Initiative is a community-led breakthrough strategy for healing-centered communities in Illinois. For 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,” through community engagement, leadership, advocacy training, and the development of strategies for health system changes.
Indian Law Resource Center
Indigenous Lands Initiative is led by the Indian Law Resource Center, that works to secure land ownership rights for Indigenous communities in Mexico, Central, and South America. Through partnerships, the Indian Law Resource Center will build a permanent Indigenous-led institution to provide essential technical and legal assistance aimed at helping Indigenous peoples secure ownership of their lands.
Watch how these organizations work to transform inequitable systems in various societies. Learn more at https://wkkf.org/RE2030.