The Haas, Jr. Fund has joined nearly two dozen funders to announce the launch of the California Black Freedom Fund, a new $100 million initiative dedicated to Black power-building and organizing in California. This first-of-its-kind fund is co-created with Black leaders and organizers to ensure that California’s growing ecosystem of locally rooted Black-led organizing efforts have the sustained investments and resources they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen Black communities across the country step up boldly as the conscience of our nation to challenge the status quo. The California Black Freedom Fund represents a great opportunity to build on that momentum and support Black-led organizations and a movement that can keep racial justice front and center and reimagine a better future for all of us.”

Cathy Cha, President and CEO, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund

Over the next five years, the California Black Freedom Fund will strategically increase the resources available to Black-led organizations throughout California through grantmaking and capacity building support. In its first round of grantmaking, the California Black Freedom Fund is investing over $6 million to support the following organizations:

• Black Census and Redistricting Hub—A network of over 30 Black-led and Black-serving organizations maximizing participation in the census and redistricting process among hard to count Black communities.
• Black Equity Collective—A community-public-private partnership strengthening the long-term capacity and infrastructure of Black-led and Black-empowering social justice organizations in Southern California (Los Angeles County and Inland Empire).
• PICO California: Live Free/ Bring the HEAT—Organizing intervention to protect the basic health, safety, and well-being of all people by demanding a series of immediate and sweeping changes to the current policing system in the United States.

Three rounds of grantmaking are anticipated in 2021 to reach a wide and diverse set of Black-led organizations across the state, with the next round of grantmaking anticipated in late February 2021. 

It’s time to make racial justice real in California. Join us! To learn more about the fund, please visit cablackfreedomfund.org and follow CBFF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Reports suggest that Californians are already voting in record numbers. But it’s been a long and sometimes confusing path to Election Day November 3, and communities of color in particular are facing a range of barriers when it comes to casting their ballots—including rampant misinformation, concerns about health and safety, and more.

Getting out good and reliable information and ensuring that people of color can vote freely and confidently is a key focus for a wide range of people and groups across the state.

The Haas, Jr. Fund is honored to be a part of this work. In conversations early this year with California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and nonprofit leaders, we agreed to help address some of the challenges that might depress voting in low-income communities of color in 2020. Since then, we have provided a range of grants to help Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) groups across the state research and develop persuasive messages to use in their digital get-out-the-vote efforts.

For example, we supported a partnership between Common Cause of California and the Center for Social Innovation at UC Riverside to conduct a series of focus groups with Latino and AAPI adults to gauge the best messages for increasing turnout in those communities. In addition, we supported a parallel polling effort to better understand Black voters’ attitudes toward voting in this election. One result was a campaign urging mail-in voting among Black voters emphasizing the theme, “Stay Safe. Skip the Lines.”

Every election is important. But the stakes are higher than normal this year as California and the nation continue to reel from the Covid-19 crisis and the need for action to address racial injustice, among many other issues. By investing in boosting voting and civic participation in communities of color, we can make sure that their concerns are heard at all levels—and that government represents the interests of all people.

If you haven’t already done it, please vote. https://www.sos.ca.gov

The Racial Equity to Accelerate Change (REACH) Fund at Borealis Philanthropy is excited to announce it has awarded $1.36 million in grants to 14 practitioners providing racial equity consultative services to nonprofit organizations.

The long-term goal of the REACH Fund, launched in June 2019, is to help practitioners develop and scale tools and strategies that will build the capacity of the nonprofit sector to dismantle institutional racism, build race-conscious organizations and leadership, and design internal and external strategy, policy, and cultural change that centers racial equity.

“The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and Brown communities is highlighting the systemic racial inequities and disparities we have long known existed in our society,” said Linda Wood, Senior Director at the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. “Nonprofit organizations are working hard to support communities of color and address the root causes of racism in this moment, so they must be equipped with tools and strategies that are effective. Philanthropy has a key role to play by investing in the practitioners who are supporting nonprofits to fully integrate racial equity into their work.”

The REACH Fund invests in practitioners who have a body of work around racial equity and are innovating and developing promising practices.

Grantees who received support from the REACH Fund in its first round of grantmaking were able to further develop their curricula and program designs, strengthen their internal processes related to onboarding and offboarding clients and conducting racial equity assessments, have more time for team retreats and staff development, do more work with people of color-led organizations, increase their capacity for data analysis, and more.

“One of the essential needs for practitioners working on racial equity issues is to have the ability to take space and time for learning and reflection with peers in this field,” said kiran nigam, a member of the REACH Fund advisory committee and Left movement facilitator. “By prioritizing a community of practice, the REACH fund is making it possible for grantees to freely exchange lessons, learnings, and cultivate peer relationships that can support everyone to level up, increase their effectiveness, and refine their approaches.”

In its second round of grantmaking, the Fund prioritized inviting additional applications from practitioners operating in, or working with, rural and Native/Indigenous communities, as well as communities located in the Midwest/Central part of the country. During this grant cycle, the Fund will also support the curation of racial equity tools and is making plans to host a convening space for racial equity practitioners in 2021.

To honor the time organizations spent on the application process, declined applicants received stipends of $2,500, in addition to detailed feedback on their proposal from REACH Fund program staff.

The REACH Fund currently includes support from the Barr Foundation, the Bush Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, Fidelity Charitable, the Grove Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the Meyer Memorial Trust, the NoVo Foundation, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, and the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation.

If you are interested in receiving updates about the Fund, please sign up on Borealis’ email list. To learn more about the fund and how to support its work, please contact Program Officer Ain Bailey: abailey@borealisphilanthropy.org.

REACH Fund round two grantees are listed below. Learn more about the new REACH Fund grantees in their own words:

Ana Perez, Movement Strategy Center: “Our vision for Decolonize Race is that we reach a tipping point of people who have healed intergenerational racial trauma and catalyze healing in others and human beings no longer carry the cycle of racialized trauma of previous generations. We see nonprofit cultures and structures transformed from places where unconsciously people continue to recycle oppression, to environments where equity and liberation is an on-going practice that informs everything from organizational structures and systems, to behavioral expectations of staff and community.”

Center for Diversity and the Environment: “Our Environment 2042 leadership program builds a cadre of change-agents who are working to combat the persistent homogeneity and acculturation that has been stifling the environmental movement’s political, financial & cultural potential. Our collective work invites participants to come together to reimagine & redefine environmentalism as the mainstream environmental movement has known it.”

Humboldt Area Foundation: “With inspiration from many diverse community partner organizations and leaders, we have spent four years learning, testing, adapting and developing a powerful approach to racial equity (RE) vision and impact—and are motivated to share whatever is useful to others. This work has followed a decade and a half of working with Native communities and incubating a grassroots organizing network driven by communities of color.”

Interaction Institute for Social Change: “IISC plays a special role in the racial practitioner field, bringing a combination of process and organizational development skills to work for racial equity. We are both designers of processes with strong skills in facilitation and network building, and deep knowledge-holders of racial equity concepts, practices, and skills.”

Shriver Center for Racial Justice: “Our work supports the civil legal aid advocacy sector of nonprofits as they struggle with patterns of racial inequity and disproportionate rates of impact for the communities of color they serve. We will support these advocates and organizations by providing them with the skills and tools needed to acknowledge and address the roles that race and racism plays in the institutions and systems they challenge through their respective advocacy.”

YWCA Boston: “Generally YWCA Boston conducts a wide variety of workshops to raise awareness and learn and grow their networks. The majority of the work is self-directed by the non-profit organizations, who embark on YWCA led 5 weeks of 2 hour long sessions unpacking historical systems and structures. YWCA then works with the organizations to create an action plan and supports them in implementing the action plan.”

Read more about the grantees receiving ongoing support:

• Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance (AORTA)
• Bari Katz Inc. & Authentic Seeds
• Center for Urban and Racial Equity, LLC
• CompassPoint Nonprofit Services
• Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training
• Change Elemental
• OpenSource Leadership Strategies
• Western States Center

This report was originally published by PRRI.

New Landmark Survey of 50 States Finds Broad Support for LGBT Rights Across the United States

Majority Support for Same-Sex Marriage and Nondiscrimination Protections, Opposition to Religiously-Based Service Refusals Across Most Demographics; White Evangelical Protestants and Republicans Are Only Major Groups Opposed to Same-Sex Marriage

WASHINGTON – A landmark national survey of over 40,000 Americans, including results for all 50 states, released today by PRRI finds approximately seven in 10 (69 percent) Americans support nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people today. The survey also finds nearly six in 10 (57 percent) Americans oppose allowing small businesses to refuse services to gay and lesbian people based on religious objections. More than six in 10 (62 percent) Americans also support same-sex marriage. The only major groups in which a majority oppose same-sex marriage are white evangelical Protestants and Republicans.

Majorities in All States Support Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBT People

Approximately seven in 10 (69 percent) Americans—including majorities in all 50 states—favor laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination in jobs, public accommodations, and housing, virtually unchanged from 2017 levels (70 percent). Though support is highest in Northeastern (72 percent) and Western (72 percent) states, majorities in the Midwest (68 percent) and South (65 percent) are also supportive. Even in states with the lowest levels of support, such as South Carolina (58 percent) and Arkansas (56 percent), solid majorities support these policies.

“The broad support for laws to protect LGBT people from discrimination represents a rarity in our polarized politics today—an issue that actually brings Americans together across partisan, religious, and geographic lines,” notes PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones.

The nationwide strength of support for nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people transcends age and religion. Three in four Americans ages 18-29 (76 percent) favor these protections, as do 59 percent of Americans ages 65 and over.

Solid majorities of all major religious groups in the U.S. support laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination in housing, public accommodations, and the workplace. Among major religious groups, the strongest supporters of LGBT nondiscrimination protections are Unitarian Universalists (90 percent), Jews (80 percent), Hindus (79 percent), Buddhists (75 percent), and religiously unaffiliated Americans (78 percent). Even majorities of faith traditions that have been historically more opposed to LGBT rights support these protections. Fully seven in 10 Mormons (70 percent), along with 65 percent of black Protestants, 60 percent of Muslims, 54 percent of white evangelical Protestants, and 53 percent of Jehovah’s Witnesses favor LGBT nondiscrimination laws.

Majorities of Democrats (79 percent), independents (70 percent), and Republicans (56 percent) also favor such protections, though Republican support has slipped five percentage points over the last few years, down from 61 percent support in 2015.

All Racial Groups, Most Religious Groups Oppose Allowing Businesses to Refuse Services to LGBT Customers

A majority of Americans (57 percent) oppose allowing a small business owner in their state to refuse products or services to gay or lesbian people based on their religious beliefs. Opposition to religiously-based refusals to serve gay and lesbian people is slightly lower than support in 2017 (60 percent) and 2016 (61 percent) but consistent with support levels in 2015 (59 percent).

Majorities of residents in 40 states believe small business owners in their state should not be allowed to refuse service to gay and lesbian people. While there are no states in which a majority support religiously-based refusals to serve gay or lesbian people, opposition falls short of a majority in 10 states: Arkansas (50 percent), Kansas (50 percent), Alabama (49 percent), Nevada (49 percent), Utah (49 percent), Louisiana (48 percent), Oklahoma (48 percent), Idaho (47 percent), Tennessee (47 percent). Alaska is the only state with plurality support for religiously-based service refusals (46 percent favor, 42 percent oppose).

Younger Americans ages 18-29 (63 percent are noticeably more likely than seniors over the age of 65 (52 percent) to oppose religiously-based refusals to serve gay or lesbian people.

Americans of all racial and ethnic groups oppose religiously-based service refusals. Black (66 percent) and Hispanic (60 percent) Americans are most likely to oppose allowing businesses to refuse service to gay or lesbian people because of religious objections. White (54 percent) and Native Americans (52 percent) are least likely to oppose such service refusals, though a majority remain against them.

Majorities of most major religious groups oppose religiously-based refusals to serve gay or lesbian people. The greatest opposition comes from Unitarian Universalists (83 percent), Jews (68 percent), religiously unaffiliated Americans (66 percent), Buddhists (66 percent) and Muslims (60 percent). White evangelical Protestants (55 percent) and Mormons (54 percent) are the only religious groups where a majority support allowing small business owners to refuse service to gay and lesbian customers if doing so violates their religious beliefs. Jehovah’s Witnesses have no majority opinion: a plurality (43 percent) are opposed, while almost as many are in favor (39 percent); 18 percent offer no opinion.

Opposition to religiously-based service refusals varies dramatically by political affiliation. Three-quarters of Democrats (75 percent) and a majority of independents (56 percent) oppose allowing businesses to refuse service to gay or lesbian people based on religious objections. Only 36 percent of Republicans oppose religiously-based refusals to serve gay or lesbian people, compared to nearly six in 10 (59 percent) who support such a policy. Conservative Republicans exhibit significantly more support for religiously-based service refusals (65 percent), compared to moderate (44 percent) and liberal (35 percent) Republicans.

Support for Same-Sex Marriage Remains Widespread

Support for same-sex marriage has continued growing since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 rule that established a constitutional right to marry for same-sex couples. More than six in 10 (62 percent) Americans now say gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry legally, while only about half as many (30 percent) are opposed. The increased support for same-sex marriage over the last decade has been dramatic: In 2007, over one in three (36 percent) Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 55 percent were opposed.

Majority support for same-sex marriage extends across all regions of the nation. Residents of Northeastern (70 percent) and Western (67 percent) states are the strongest supporters of same-sex marriage. Robust majorities in the Midwest (60 percent) and South (56 percent) support it as well.

Nearly eight in 10 (79 percent) young Americans (ages 18-29) support gay marriage, with only 16 percent opposed. Even among seniors (ages 65 and older), nearly half (49 percent) favor same-sex marriage today, compared to 43 percent who are opposed.

Majorities of all racial and ethnic groups support same-sex marriage. The strongest levels of support come from Asian-Pacific Islander Americans (75 percent), Americans who identify with another race or as mixed race (68 percent), and Hispanic Americans (65 percent). But majorities of white (62 percent), black (56 percent), and Native Americans (55 percent) also support same-sex marriage.

Most major religious groups in the U.S. now support same-sex marriage, including an overwhelming majority of religiously unaffiliated Americans (82 percent). White evangelical Protestants are the only major religious group in which a majority oppose same-sex marriage (31 percent favor, 60 percent oppose).

Strong majorities of Democrats (77 percent) and independents (65 percent) favor same-sex marriage. While only four in 10 (41 percent) of Republicans currently favor same-sex marriage, support among Republicans has risen by 10 percentage points since 2011, when only 31 percent favored this policy.

Methodology

The American Values Atlas (AVA) is a project of PRRI. The survey was designed and conducted by PRRI and was made possible by generous grants from The Nathan Cummings Foundation, The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, The Gill Foundation, The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and the United Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock. Results for the nondiscrimination laws and religiously-based service refusal questions are based on a subset of 40,292 telephone interviews (including 24,149 cell phone interviews) conducted between March 14, 2018 and December 16, 2018. The margin of error for these questions is +/- 0.5 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. Results for the same-sex marriage question are based on a subset of 4,028 telephone interviews (including 2,413 cell phone interviews) conducted between March 14, 2018 and March 25, 2018 and between June 27, 2018 and July 8, 2018. The margin of error for the same-sex marriage question subsample is +/-1.5 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. 

About PRRI

PRRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy.