Sacramento, CA – As part of a statewide effort to reduce barriers and improve opportunities for boys and men of color, philanthropic leaders from the California Funders for Boys and Men of Color (CFBMoC) today announced an initial investment of $300,000 to 12 organizations focused on educational equity for boys and men of color in Sacramento and San Joaquin counties.

CFBMoC is a statewide network of leading foundations that are aligning their efforts and resources to improve life outcomes for boys and men of color through policy and systems change. The CFBMoC’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Regional Action Committee aims to ensure that boys and men of color have a fair chance to thrive, with the support and access they need to graduate from college with quality degrees, credentials and certifications. Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Regional Action Committee members represent Sierra Health Foundation, Sacramento Region Community Foundation, The California Wellness Foundation and The California Endowment. College Futures Foundation also served as a key strategic and funding partner. These philanthropic organizations have made a commitment to fund efforts that promote racial equity and justice in policies.

“Access to high quality education is an essential part of ensuring equity for our young people, particularly boys and men of color, and sets them on a path toward the life and career they aspire to,” said Chet P. Hewitt, president and CEO of Sierra Health Foundation and The Center. “An investment in them today is truly an investment in not only their future, but also the success of our state.”

The awarded organizations in San Joaquin County are Fathers & Families of San Joaquin, Improve Your Tomorrow,  Raising Youth Resilience, Reinvent Stockton Foundation, and Little Manila Rising. Sacramento County grantees are Breakthrough Sacramento,  Brown Issues, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, My Brother’s Keeper Education Strategy Team, Juma Ventures, Teach for America, and East Bay Area Youth Center (EBAYC).

“The Sacramento Region Community Foundation is proud to be a part of the CFBMoC effort to lift up educational equity in our region, and is aligned with our initiative to increase post-secondary education access for underrepresented students through our Capital Area Promise Scholars program,” said Linda Cutler, CEO of Sacramento Region Community Foundation. “This effort by the CFBMoC represents a collective of funders and community based organizations committed to improving the future of our boys and men of color in the region. ”

This initial set of grants helps support these 12 organizations in collectively:

• Developing a regional education blueprint to increase the number of boys and men of color accessing and completing an associates-to-transfer degree program, high-value career-technical certificate programs or bachelor’s degree programs.

• Strengthening the pipeline to community college or four-year university for justice-involved and system-impacted boys and men of color.

• Improving school climate that increases the number of boys and men of color who enter into higher education.

Data shows that although boys and men of color in Sacramento and San Joaquin counties are successfully graduating from high school, there is a need to focus on preparing them for college and helping them meet the UC and CSU requirements to apply for a four-year university.  Currently, 41% in Sacramento County and 26.9% in San Joaquin County are meeting these requirements. Data also shows that boys and men of color who attend college — especially those entering post-secondary opportunities through local community colleges and California State University systems — are failing to complete their coursework to obtain their degrees, with 37% to 42% completing community college coursework, and 32% to 71% completing CSU and UC coursework.

With this funding, resources for technical assistance, and current and future aligned investments, CFBMoC will invest up to $1.2 million in the region to support greater access to and completion of post-secondary education for boys and men of color.