(YORK, PA, November 10) – The Racial Equity Fund (REF) Grant Program of York County Community Foundation (YCCF) provided over $69,000 in grants to eight local nonprofits. The REF Committee is comprised of community leaders of color who select projects that address issues of racism and inequity, with a focus on “shifting the paradigm of equitable opportunities.”
“The REF is pleased to have completed its second round of grant funding for 2022. What an exciting time to be actively invested in the great work occurring in York County. We continue to encourage potential applicants to reach out to us with any questions about the work we do to advance racial equity within our community,” shared Lisa Kennedy, Chair of the Racial Equity Fund.
The Racial Equity Fund offers grants of up to $10,000 each for projects that address equity gaps for communities of color in the following areas:
- Education and job readiness
- Criminal justice system
- Community leadership and development
- Income and wealth creation within communities of color
- Racial and cultural education
- Health and wellness within communities of color
The following programs were awarded grants to address inequities in York County:
- Appell Center for the Performing Arts for its Culturally Responsive and Teen Empowered Creative Career Programs that prioritize culturally responsive pedagogy, youth empowerment and pipelines into the performing arts.
- Handle with Care Project UPLIFT US Project to unpack issues related to interactions between police and racially diverse community members with disabilities through a series of interactive presentations and dialogue circles.
- Junior Achievement (JA) of South-Central PA for its Empowering Equitable Tomorrows in the School District of the City of York Program. JA is working with York City School District to increase its students’ participation in JA’s programs to more equitable levels as other York County students.
- Shiloh Baptist Church for The Impact Project (TIP) – an education/job preparedness project that seeks to address equity gaps and racial disparities within communities of color through job training, career preparedness, and income equity.
- York College of Pennsylvania for its Race, Mentorship and Career DEI Readiness Program to provide mentors for women of color and career DEI readiness for its BIPOC students.
- York County History Center to support the Community Historian for Diversity and Inclusion Position. With YCCF’s support, the York County History Center will be able to offer a Full-time Community Historian Position for Diversity and Inclusion.
- YWCA York Leadership for its Youth Summit Expansion Program. The Leadership Summit engages high school students in dialogue around racism and provides activities for continued growth and education throughout the year.
- YWCA York for its Voice/Vision/Value – An Advocacy Workshop Series for Teens. This series focuses engaging teens in harnessing their talents to drive equity and build a stronger York. It incorporates the Voice/Vision/Value message through sessions on advocacy through art, music, poetry, civic engagement, and podcasting.
Four grants were also awarded to help nonprofit organizations build their diversity, equity, and inclusion capacity through training. YCCF will cover half of the cost for these DEI-related trainings, with the organizations also contributing half of the cost. This is another step the Foundation is taking to advance racial equity in our community.
The organizations who will be participating in DEI trainings with funding from YCCF include:
- Children’s Aid Society SOPA COB
- LifePath Christian Ministries
- MidPenn Legal Services
- PennCares Support Services
“Strengthening the cultural competence of the nonprofit sector by investing in the leadership, boards, and staff will enable them to become vocal advocates for the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community. It is important to work together to affect positive change,” shared Adrian N. Buckner, MBA, MPP, Vice President of Grants & Community Engagement and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at YCCF.
To qualify for a grant, nonprofits must be working directly with people of color, with a preference for projects that are led by people of color.
Organizations who are interested in applying for funding or would like to discuss their project should contact Adrian Buckner at abuckner@yccf.org.
YCCF created the Racial Equity Fund in 2020 to establish a dedicated grant program to support meaningful, positive action towards addressing racial inequities in our community. Additional contributions are being sought to sustain an endowment to ensure meaningful grants are distributed every year.
For more information on the Racial Equity Fund and the grant program please visit: https://yccf.org/racial-equity-fund/
