The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) has announced the five long-term awardees for the Racial Equity 2030 Challenge, an open call for bold solutions to drive an equitable future for children, families and communities around the world.

The five awardees were named to receive a combined $80 million over the next eight years, concluding in 2030, WKKF’s 100th anniversary. The dollars will help build and scale actionable ideas for transformative change in the systems and institutions that uphold racial inequities. 

The challenge was launched in 2020 during the foundation’s 90th anniversary by La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of WKKF, with a pledge to invest $90 million to fuel innovative and actionable solutions to build a more racially equitable future.

As CMF reported, in 2021 WKKF announced 10 finalists for the challenge. Each finalist received a $1 million planning grant and nine months of capacity-building support to further develop their project and strengthen their application.

WKKF received 1,453 submissions from 72 countries and applications were evaluated during a five-month process involving reviews by peers and experts from around the world.

According to a WKKF press release, the five awardees are advancing racial equity with unique approaches – from transforming education systems to healing communities and empowering historically marginalized Indigenous people. 

“The bold work proposed by each of the awardees fills me with hope that together we can attack the roots of inequity in our communities and build a future in which all children can thrive,” Tabron said. “But this change won't happen unless we act, and I believe we must act now. I am excited to partner with these teams to address racism in their communities and support systemic change across the globe.” 

The awardees include:

• Building an Anti-Racist Public Education System in Brazil: Through the SETA Project, ActionAid, the Brazilian National Campaign on the Right to Education, CONAQ, UneAFRO Brasil, Geledés and Ação Educativa will work together to transform the Brazilian school network into the world’s first anti-racist education system, harnessing youth, education and Black movements, and sparking a national healing process.
• Healing Through Justice: A Community-Led Breakthrough Strategy for Healing-Centered Communities in Illinois, U.S.A.: Communities United and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago will bring to scale a youth-led movement for healing to make breakthroughs in supporting and sustaining community-led approaches to healing-centered communities.
• Indigenous Lands Initiative: Securing Land Ownership Rights for Indigenous Communities in Mexico and Central and South America: The Indian Law Resource Center, the Interethnic Association of the Development of the Peruvian Amazon and the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon will build a permanent Indigenous-led institution to provide essential technical and legal assistance to help Indigenous peoples secure ownership of their lands and to speed up and improve Indigenous land titling processes in Mexico and Central and South America.  
• Overcoming Environmental Racism by Knowing, Using, and Shaping Law in Kenya, India, Sierra Leone and the U.S.: Namati, its partners and members of the Legal Empowerment Network equip frontline communities with the power of law, so they can protect their own well-being and, ultimately, make systems of environmental governance more equitable. Globally, Namati and members of the Legal Empowerment Network will launch an international policy advocacy campaign and drive cross-border learning on grassroots environmental justice.
• Kawailoa: A Transformative Indigenous Model to End Youth Incarceration in Hawai’i and Beyond: Partners In Development Foundation and several partners will replace youth incarceration with a Native Hawaiian restorative system that empowers communities, trains youth healers and shifts resources to community-driven and culturally-grounded sanctuaries of support.  

According to WKKF, the timing for this challenge aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by 2030.

Want more?

Read more about Racial Equity 2030.

Learn more about the awardees.