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Funds will help community-based organizations
train low-income youth, parents and caregivers
to become leaders and advocates for change
SEATTLE, WA (September 22, 2003) – Marguerite
Casey Foundation today announced $9.9 million
in new grants to community-based organizations
across the United States, many of which focus
on training low-income youth, parents and caregivers
to become leaders and advocates for change in
their communities.
Marguerite Casey Foundation grants were awarded
to 26 different organizations in 11 states and
the District of Columbia. Grantees range from
small neighborhood-based groups – such
as the Black Pearl Workshop’s efforts expand
the capacity of an after-school program in Chicago’s
south side – to larger regional and national
organizations such as the Children’s Defense
Fund.
“For many of the nation’s poorest
communities, the future depends on youth and
teaching new generations of leaders to seek out
and advocate for a better life than the one they
see around them,” said Marguerite Casey
Foundation President and CEO Luz Vega-Marquis. “Marguerite
Casey Foundation is committed to supporting groups
who give voice and power to these previously
untapped and underutilized community advocates.”
According to the Foundation, it is not enough
for non-profit organizations to advocate on behalf
of marginalized families; solutions reached for
the benefit of the poor without the participation
and input of low-income families are rarely sustainable.
Instead, grant makers and grantees alike need
to ensure that people most affected have a seat
at the table in determining the policies that
shape their lives. Toward that end, the latest
Marguerite Casey Foundation grants include support
for the following organizations:
- (Austin,
TX). A three-year $300,000 grant to expand
the organization’s education programs
and conduct outreach work among women and
families who have recently immigrated to
the Rio Grande Valley along the US/Mexico
Border
- (New Iberia,
LA). A three year $300,000 grant to support
community-building programs in the areas
of health, education, housing and leadership
development in southern Louisiana; including
efforts to help dozens of families become
first-time homeowners and hundreds more
learn to recognize and avoid predatory
lending practices.
- (Chicago,
IL). A three-year $200,000 grant to expand
the capacity of an after-school program in
Chicago’s south side; to transform
its cultural center into a commercial gallery
and tourist destination that can support
the program’s successful multi-disciplinary
youth curriculum.
Algebra Project (Cambridge, MA). A three year
$750,000 grant to sustain programs that equip
low-income students of color with the mathematical
skills they need to participate fully in a technological
society.
Latino Health Access (Santa Ana, CA). A three-year
$600,000 grant to strengthen the organization’s
ability to improve the quality of life and health
of uninsured and under-served families by providing
accessible, effective preventative services and
educational programs.
For a complete list of grantees, please visit
the Marguerite Casey Foundation Grants
Database.
The Foundation also awarded a grant of $2 million
to the Foundation Consortium for California’s
Children and Youth, a group which seeks to bring
philanthropic organizations, communities, schools
and government together in order to improve child
welfare policies and practices throughout the
State of California. Marguerite Casey Foundation
funds will be used to implement and promote a
recent redesign of the state’s Child Welfare
System, including intensive technical assistance
and consultation for child welfare workers in
up to a dozen counties statewide.
With limited exceptions, Marguerite Casey Foundation
grants are focused primarily in four regions
of the United States: the Midwest, beginning
in Chicago; the Southern Belt states; the Southwest,
including the U.S./Mexico Border; and Western
coastal states of California, Oregon and Washington.
Most grants are intended for core operating support,
enabling recipient organizations to use the Foundation’s
resources for basic needs, leadership development
and capacity building rather than for designated
project support or specific programs.
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