Kapor Foundation Gives $1 Million In Grant Funding To Social Justice Organizations

OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kapor Foundation announced today that they are giving $1 million in grant funding to national civil rights and local grassroots organizations focused on voter education and engagement, voter and election protection, and building political power within Black and Brown communities.

Grants range from $15,000 to $100,000 and are announced during National Voter Registration Week (Sept. 21 - 25) as a part of the Kapor Center family of organizations' 100 Days of Action for Racial Justice Campaign to support the mobilization of Black and Brown communities in upcoming local, state, and national elections.

Kapor Foundation selected 27 recipients, prioritizing organizations led by people of color and those with a track record of engaging Black and Brown voters across the country and local regions where the Kapor Center organizations operate programs. The following national and local organizations received grants:

Voter Education and Engagement: NAACP, VotoLatino, New Georgia Project, Hispanic Federation, Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, Poder Latinx, UnidosUS, National Coalition for Black Civic Participation, Black Millennial Convention Foundation, 99Rootz (Power California), Detroit Action, 482Forward, Chicago Votes, Make the Road PA, People for the American Way Foundation, Oakland Rising

Voter and Election Protection: Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, Represent.US, National Redistricting Foundation, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition

Building Political Power within Black & Brown Communities: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Latino Community Foundation, Tech Equity Collaborative, Black Futures Lab, Black Organizing Project, The Unity Council

The $1 million in grant funding is part of a larger strategy to promote civic engagement and fight racial inequality, especially as the November election approaches. To support local voter participation, Kapor Center has also partnered with the Alameda County Registrar of Voters to utilize Kapor's facilities at 1901 Poplar Street in West Oakland as a polling location. In addition, the Kapor family of organizations have committed to providing all employees paid time off on Nov. 3 to ensure participation and encourage volunteering, and 22 of Kapor Capital's portfolio companies have pledged to provide VTO for their employees. Kapor Center will also launch an organization-wide effort to encourage individual and collective action to mobilize communities, provide education, and ensure individuals get to the polls, particularly at SMASH university partner locations in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

"As we continue the fight for racial justice, we understand that civic engagement is critical to our democracy, to dismantling disparities, and to our work to enhance diversity in technology," said Allison Scott, CEO of the Kapor Foundation. "We believe in the importance of supporting leaders of color working directly with communities of color, and are honored to support these organizations to continue their critical work. We encourage others to join us."

The Kapor Center family of organizations—Kapor Foundation, Kapor Capital, and SMASH—work together to holistically transform the tech and venture capital ecosystems by addressing multiple holes in the leaky tech talent pipeline. SMASH addresses entry into the tech pipeline by preparing young people of color with STEM skills and creating the next generation of tech employees, entrepreneurs, and investors. Kapor Capital addresses the entrepreneurship piece of the pipeline, funding gap-closing tech companies that provide innovative solutions for low-income communities and communities of color. The Kapor Foundation is doubling-down on efforts to dismantle educational inequity by focusing on closing the digital divide and increasing equity in computer science education, advancing economic justice by dismantling barriers to entry into the tech sector, and advocating for policy change at all levels.

Note: The Kapor Foundation used a strategic grantmaking process; they are not accepting unsolicited grant proposals at this time.

About Kapor Center
Kapor Center aims to enhance diversity and inclusion in the technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem through increasing access to tech and STEM education programs, conducting research on access and opportunity in computing, investing in community organizations and gap-closing social ventures, and increasing access to capital among diverse entrepreneurs. Learn more about Kapor Center at: https://www.kaporcenter.org/

SOURCE Kapor Center

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