Northwestern announced the 21 inaugural grant recipients of the Racial Equity and Community Partnership on Thursday, according to a University news release. 

Developed by an advisory committee of NU faculty and staff and local community leaders, the program aims to provide support to organizations working to advance racial equity in Evanston and Chicago. Among the recipients, 10 organizations will receive partnership grants and 11 will get incubator grants.

This year, the University distributed $600,000 in total funds for the initiative, including an annual $100,000 donation from an anonymous alumnus, the release stated.

The Racial Equity and Community Partnership is part of the University’s initiatives on social justice. In a March 31 message to the community, University President Morton Schapiro announced that NU invited 48 organizations to submit proposals for funding, with tiers divided into partnership and incubator.

Dave Davis, executive director of Neighborhood and Community Relations, said the program was the next chapter of equity in the community. The University acknowledges that the process of healing is far from over, Davis said. 

“Today, we are proud of the commitment the community has made: to acknowledge the harms done to communities of color, to reshape our institutions and practices, and to create opportunities for all of the people who call this place home,” Davis said in the release. 

Partnership grant recipients include Evanston Early Childhood Council and Howard Brown Health, which will engage in projects that address trauma-informed care and research COVID-19’s impact on Black and Latina women of transgender experience. Among the organizations selected for the incubator grant are Black Administrators in Child Welfare Illinois and Open Communities. 

Overall, 11 are located in Chicago, eight in Evanston and two serve both regions, according to the release. 

The recipients represent the program’s three focal points, consisting of health equity, social and economic empowerment and children and learning. 

Those selected for a partnership grant will receive support from the University and collaboration with NU faculty, according to the release. Community groups that qualified for the incubator program will receive coaching from the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy on forming strategies to progress the organization’s mission and generate investments. 

CSDD director and political science Prof. Alvin Tillery said when he founded the center four years ago, he envisioned it as a “conduit” for transferring academic University knowledge to social justice projects. He said he finds this vision in collaborating with Neighborhood and Community Relations. 

“Our goal is to help social entrepreneurs in Evanston and Chicago bolster their efforts to move the needle on racial equity in our communities. We are extremely excited to have a hand in the important work that will be done by our grantees,” Tillery said in the release.

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