Rooted in Love: The Community Based-Organizations of Our Education Initiative

 

Communities thrive when people learn in environments that are responsive to their needs. Unfortunately, systemic injustice causes inequitable resources, creating a racial and economic gap in opportunity and achievement. We established the Education Initiative to build relationships with community partners to develop strategies and programs that shift policies to a more equitable state. Our partners are BIPOC-led grassroots community-based organizations (CBOs) and groups most impacted by educational injustices.

 

In the face of these injustices, we invested $1.65M into several CBOs in Washington and Montana to examine and address the root causes of racial inequities from birth and through adult education. Their work focuses on the systems surrounding prenatal to early childhood development, the school-to-prison and deportation pipeline, and community wellness and safety education that liberates. The initiative builds relationships with the CBOs, builds their capacities where needed, and develops programs and movements that shift policies to create more equitable outcomes.

 

As part of the investment, KAYA strategik, an immigrant women-led consulting firm, offered capacity-building services with an equity lens. Each group and CBO has specific needs. We strive to create the most significant impact for the community through every interaction and relationship. Above all, we trust that the leaders know best what they need to sustain their organizations and create lasting change within their communities.

 

Over the next several months, we are excited to showcase the work of our dedicated partners. We hope you’ll follow along on our LinkedIn page or website, a space we created for our community partners to share their impact.