The mission of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund is to achieve equity in education by working with those affected and inspiring all to end racism and poverty. In 2018, the Fund created three separate but interconnected Program Focus Areas for their work: Building Community Power, Disrupting Institutional Inequity, and Transforming Key Systems.
Building Community Power: Building Community Power grants will support groups that are investing in communities of color living in poverty to build power and lead a broader coalition to confront racism and poverty in our schools and society. Criteria for support in this area:
- Offer support, skills, and training for grassroots to challenge narratives, practices, and structures;
- Are led by grassroots and provide necessary support;
- Have an explicit focus on the intersection of racial and economic equity;
- Focus on building trust; and
- Build solidarity among communities most affected by poverty and racism.
Strategies in this area will be focused on the power of grassroot residents, youth, students, parents, and teachers to confront racism and poverty in their neighborhoods, schools, and society. This work might be described as:
- Organizing
- Mobilizing or Activism
- Capacity and skill building (preparing people for power vs. fixing people)
- Political education
- Community building, spaces and events that bring community together for relationship and trust building
- Building trust
Disrupting Institutional Inequity: Disrupting Institutional Inequity grants will support groups that are disrupting narratives, practices, and structures typical of the ways education and other institutions perpetuate racial and economic disparities. Criteria for support in this area:
- Invite critique of policies and practices;
- Identify and change policies and practices;
- Provide support and cover for equity work within institutions;
- Leadership represents the community served; and
- Community residents are equal partners.
Strategies in this area will be focused on schools, districts, and institutions involved in examining and pursuing changes to educational policies, practices, and structures that perpetuate racial and economic disparities. This work might be described as:
- Examining and pushing for changes in an organization's/institution's policies, procedures, and practices that disadvantage people of color and people living in poverty.
- Confronting unjust events fueled by the racism, elitism and/or white supremacy.
- Challenging the racial and/or economic status quo.
- Holding leaders accountable for their commitments to communities of color and people living in poverty.
- Engaging organizations and institutional leaders in equity training and structural racism analysis.
- Creating pathways for people of color to enter and flourish in educational institutions
Transforming Key Systems: Transforming Key Systems grants will support work that prioritizes approaches which are creative and capable of providing new solutions and methods for providing educational avenues and resources needed for success, and ultimately promote liberation. Criteria for support in this area:
- Offers cover for groups engaged in changing systems;
- Communities most affected by racism and poverty create systems and practices grounded in a new narrative;
- Establish mechanisms whereby communities most affected by racism and poverty can hold leaders accountable (local, state, officials);
- dCommunities most affected by racism and poverty implement solutions that create new systems and practices; and
- Implementing strategies that build systems or institutions that increase the economic sustainability of communities of color.
Strategies in this area will be focused on efforts that elevate community power and include institutional leaders in understanding and reinventing detrimental systems so that they accelerate the advancement of people of color and people living in poverty. This work might be described as:
- Changing laws and policies at municipal and state level institutions that oppress people of color and people living in poverty.
- Advance and implement policies and practices that center the well-being of people of color and people living in poverty.
- Advance and implement policies that create opportunities and social mobility for people of color.
- Generate systems and institutions that will create prosperity for people of color and people in poverty.
- Implement strategies that build social and financial assets and the wealth of communities of color.
Primary grantmaking is dedicated to the Program Focus Areas. However, we also offer additional grant opportunities that support the development of an equity ecosystem where equity in education can become a reality.
Responsive Grants: The Memorial Fund is offering immediate support to communities in Connecticut responding to current and emerging threats, trauma and/or harassment related to these manifestations of hate and bias and oppression. This support could include gatherings, nonviolent direct action, crisis response or therapeutic support that address the physical, social, emotional well-being and safety being threatened.
Director's Discretionary Fund: The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund is fortunate to be able to provide modest support for special community projects. Although the discretionary grants are not restricted by the guidelines of our strategic requests for proposal processes, please pay attention to our mission and strategic approaches in order to know what we will likely find worth funding outside of our current grant options.
Racial Equity Training and Support Grant: The Racial Equity Training and Support Grant provides up to $10,000 for groups interested in either engaging in a training about structural racism, creating spaces for racial affinity groups, or seeking to build upon a previous racial equity training.
Technical Assistance Support for Program Focus Area Grantees: In an effort to support you in the disruptive and transformative work that leads to equity in education the Memorial Fund has designed a Technical Assistance (TA) request process for our Equity Program Grant Partners. This TA support is intended to enhance technical skills, expand social networks and strengthen organizational stability, especially when resources are not available through existing grant.