Racial Justice Is the Top Priority for Education Grant Makers

Racial justice has emerged as the top priority for education grant makers, according to a new report.

Thirty-nine percent say racial justice in education should be a primary focus of education philanthropy over the next one to three years, according to a survey of foundations by Grantmakers for Education. It was the top-ranked of five priorities respondents were asked to weigh as the “most important” for education philanthropy over the next three years.

“Racial justice in education was far and away the single most important theme that funders really wanted to go deeper on and do more with,” said Celine Coggins, executive director of Grantmakers for Education. “Our members have felt the call to action of the racial-justice reckoning that is happening right now and are very interested in being supportive of that and thinking about the ways that translates to support schools.”

Twenty-four percent said K-12 education improvements were the most pressing priority, followed by post-high-school work-force and college success, at 17 percent; creating and maintaining an equitable society, at 14 percent; and civic education, at 5 percent.

The study gathered 101 responses from members of Grantmakers for Education during the September survey. Private or family foundation officials made up 57 percent of the response pool, while 8 percent were community foundation officials and 7 percent officials at independent foundations. Over all, half represent grant makers that issue funds on a national scale.

When asked to choose multiple items from a list of essential strategies to pursue to achieve goals in their priority areas, the top response, at 80 percent, was public policy and advocacy.