Grants 2023
Chicago Torture Justice Center
Chicago, IL
$24,000 for research that helps advance reparations to survivors and families of police violence and torture in Chicago.
Geneva 2030
Geneva, NY
$20,000 to identify how elementary school literacy tutors in Geneva, New York, understand literacy as a tool for equity, access, and community development.
Period, Inc
Portland, OR
$20,000 to evaluate the impact of recent state laws mandating period products for students in school buildings. In collaboration with the University of Southern California.
Salem State University
Salem, MA
$20,000 to identify alternative policy responses to demolishing homeless encampments in New Hampshire.
Struggle for Miami’s Affordable and Sustainable Housing, Inc.
Miami, FL
$20,000 to investigate if political campaign contributions from real estate developers influence affordable housing policy and gentrification in Miami.
Texas Center for Justice and Equity
Austin, TX
$20,000 to examine disparities in charging and sentencing decisions of women in domestic violence cases in Harris County, Texas. In collaboration with Rice University.
Texas Defender Service
Austin, TX
$20,000 to identify the extent to which incarcerated women and girls in Texas were excessively punished because they were a minor party to a crime under Texas’s “law of the parties.”
Texas Gun Sense
Austin, TX
$20,000 to identify community-centered, out-of-home firearm storage strategies.
UC Collective for Caste Abolition
La Jolla, CA
$20,000 to collect testimonies from self-identified caste-oppressed faculty, staff, and students in the University of California system about the casteism they experience and promote anti-caste policies and programs. In collaboration with Equality Labs and the National Academic Coalition for Caste Equity.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Human Ecology
Madison, WI
$20,000 to identify the policy advocacy and organizing strategies used to support the new gender-responsive criminal justice reform wave – “Reproductive Dignity” bills in the United States. In collaboration with FREE.
Grants 2022
Cannabis Equity & Inclusion Community
Las Vegas, NV
$20,000 to assess a business education program designed to promote equity and inclusion in Nevada’s cannabis industry.
Community Group
Christiansburg, VA
$20,000 to study police traffic stop data in Christiansburg, Virginia.
East New York Community Land Trust
Brooklyn, NY
$20,000 to document the patterns of the ownership, use, and disposition of land held by the New York Police Department and identify alternative uses that benefit the community.
Free Migration Project
Philadelphia, PA
$20,000 to document the extent of medical deportation in the U.S..
Korean American Civic Empowerment
Flushing, NY
$20,000 to document the experiences of Asians with anti-Asian hate crimes in the New York metropolitan area and increase reporting.
Out in the Open
Brattleboro, VT
$20,000 to document how LGBTQ+ people in Vermont experience health care.
Public Advocates for Community Re-Entry
Indianapolis, IN
$20,000 to document the experiences of formerly incarcerated students with college in Indiana and advocate for policies that make it easier for their peers to enroll and graduate.
San Diego Housing Federation
San Diego, CA
$20,000 to document the outcomes of program designed to incorporate people that have experienced homelessness in local housing advocacy and planning.
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR
$19,992 to explore the housing practices of informally sheltered residents of Eugene, Oregon and devise temporary housing and sheltering policies that are more accommodating. In collaboration with Carry it Forward
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN
$20,000 to document the experiences of Black elders with structural racism in Knoxville.
Grants 2021
Alaska Public Interest Research Group
Anchorage, AL
$20,000 develop ethical protocols and best practices that guide translations and indigenous language preservation in Alaska. In collaboration with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Native Language Center
Arkansas Community Institute
Little Rock, AR
$20,000 to document how court fees and other court penalties impact household finances and employment opportunities for low-income, Black households in Jefferson and Pulaski counties. In collaboration with ACLU, DecARcerate, CARE coalition, Americans for Prosperity, Arkansas Community Organizations, University of Arkansas.
Centro Latino Americano
Eugene, OR
$20,000 to investigate structural barriers that limit participation of Latinos in municipal government in Lane County.
Emerson College
Boston, MA
$20,000 to study how language heritage programs for high school youth promote civic engagement in Northern California. In collaboration with the Yurok Tribal Council, Eureka City Schools, and the Klamath-Trinity School District.
Equity And Transformation
Chicago, IL
$20,000 to investigate how a guaranteed income can help formerly-incarcerated individuals in Chicago thrive. In collaboration with the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesburo, TN
$20,000 to determine if student-led electoral redistricting plans reflect the interests of low-wealth communities and communities of color produce fair maps that prioritize voting rights and equal protection. In collaboration with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Middle Tennessee State University, and eight universities.
National Family Farm Coalition
Gloucester, MA
$20,000 to investigate the role of corporate investments in loss of land in the South, especially land historically owned and farmed by Black and Indigenous peoples. In collaboration with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund and the University of California, Santa Cruz.
NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools
New York City
$20,000 to train public school parents, students, community organizers, educators, researchers and administrators in Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, and Newark, NJ how to create a culturally responsive English Language Arts curriculum.
Re-Entry Campus Program
Providence, RI
$20,000 to investigate worker-owned co-ops for people released from prison.
Grants 2020
California State University, Long Beach
Long Beach, CA
$20,000 to develop services and policies that help renters from getting evicted from their homes in Long Beach California. In collaboration with Libre and Legal Aid.
California State University, Long Beach
Long Beach, CA
$20,000 to help immigrant students find pathways to teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District and explore how their experiences shape their approach to teaching and learning. In collaboration with Caminos Project, Dream Success Center, and UndocuTeacher.
Food Chain Workers Alliance
Los Angeles, CA
$20,000 to build coalitions, organize workers, and develop worker-led policy recommendations that address problems with agricultural automation.
Pioneer Valley Workers Center
Northampton, MA
$20,000 to study the working conditions of low-wage and immigrant agricultural workers in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. In partnership with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s Labor Center.
Project Light of Manatee with CRD Impact and Social Impact Analytics
Bradenton, FL
$20,000 to ask low-income parents in Bradenton, Florida what they think about early learning, how they experience parent engagement programs, and what they need to prepare their children for school.
Rural Women’s Health Project
Gainesville, FL
$15,400 to examine how Latina immigrant’s access to health-protective resources in North Central Florida is affected by immigration policies, community barriers, and socioeconomic factors. In collaboration with Salir Adelante, the North Central Social Service Hispanic Alliance, and the University of Florida.
Unchained
Syracuse, NY
$20,000 to ensure that the courts in upstate New York implement new laws related to bail reform and the raised age of juvenile court jurisdiction.
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
$18,900 to ask students what makes them feels safe and compare what resources the Miami-Dade Schools allocates for policing relative to approaches that promote student safety in other ways. In collaboration with Power U.
Grants 2019
Brazilian Worker Center
Boston, MA
$20,000 to identify barriers that may be preventing domestic workers from making use of the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. In collaboration with the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores
New Bedford, MA
$17,850 to document the sexual harassment of Central American women workers and support them in organizing and taking action. In collaboration with the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Justice at Work.
Coalition for Police Accountability
Oakland, CA
$20,000 to document the experiences of vulnerable communities with law enforcement in Oakland and propose reforms. In collaboration with the Family Policy Institute of California and the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California – Berkeley.
Emerson College
Boston, MA
$19,990 to study how language heritage programs for high school youth promotes civic engagement in Northern California. In collaboration with the Yurok Tribal Council, Eureka City Schools, and the Klamath-Trinity School District.
Jane Addams Senior Caucus
Chicago, IL
$20,000 to document the barriers of limited English speaking elder residents to services of the Chicago Housing Authority and advocate for reforms. In collaboration with the Center for Urban Research and Learning at Loyola University Chicago and the Shriver Center.
Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson
Poughkeepsie, NY
$20,000 to document the impact of the new municipal ID policy adopted by Poughkeepsie, New York and use the information to support campaigns in additional cities. In collaboration with the University of Michigan-Flint and Vassar College.
UnKoch My Campus
Washington, DC
$20,000 to document the influence of university donors in academic affairs and help campus advocates promote academic freedom. In collaboration with the American Association of University Professors, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the Service Employees International Union.
Worcester Earn-A-Bike f/b/o 508 Bike Life
Worcester, MA
$20,000 to document the interactions of law enforcement and the public with members of youth bike clubs and develop an action plan to reduce conflict between these groups. In collaboration with Worcester State University.
Grants 2018
Detroit Action Commonwealth
Detroit, MI
$20,000 to identify the causes and consequences of the high rate of property tax foreclosures in Detroit.
Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project
Brooklyn, NY
$20,000 to investigate the placement process of the Family Welcome Centers of the New York City School system and identify the challenges of new immigrant students transitioning to high schools. In collaboration with the Urban Justice Center.
Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN)
Lexington, KY
$20,000 to update a study of land ownership and taxation patterns in Appalachia and its impact on the region. In collaboration with the University of Kentucky.
Lowlander Center
Gray, LA
$20,000 to use traditional ecological knowledge to inform a major sediment diversion plan threatening indigenous communities in the Grand Bayou of the Barataria Bay of coastal Louisiana. In collaboration with the University of New Orleans.
National Latino Research Center
San Marcos, CA
$20,000 to document the experiences of undocumented high school students in San Diego and identify how school staff may reduce or contribute to the their stress of living in the current political environment. In collaboration with the San Diego Dream Team, Supporting Empowering Engaging Dreamers, and Standing Together As oNe Dream.
Northwest Forest Worker Center
Albany, CA
$20,000 to study the impact of wage theft on Spanish-speaking immigrant forest workers and their families in southern Oregon, how it affects occupational safety and health, and how forest workers can be empowered to stop it.
Northwest Indian Language Institute
Eugene, OR
$19,814 to study how creating storybooks in the Ichishkin language by families and teachers can support literacy awareness and exposure in Native American children. The goal is to make storybooks a part of indigenous language revitalization efforts, increase literacy, and increase interest in language revitalization. In collaboration with Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Pioneer Valley Workers Center
Northampton, MA
$15,000 to study working conditions of low-wage and immigrant agricultural workers in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, and explore how their experiences vary by immigration status and ethnicity. In partnership with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s Labor Center.
UC Davis/Dream Team Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
$20,000 to support a longitudinal study to identify the effect of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy on the education, employment, health and quality of life outcomes of undocumented immigrant young adults in California.
Grants 2017
Center for Frontline Retail
New York, NY
$20,000 to document training and advancement opportunities in the retail industry, along with health insurance access and usage among retail workers. In collaboration with the Urban Justice Center.
Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology, Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI
$20,000 to study the linguistic and cultural strategies of Ixhil students who have recently immigrated to the U.S. and to produce trilingual (Ixhil-English-Spanish) educational materials. In collaboration with the Immigrant Workers Project, Centerville Immigration Forum, Latino Cultural Connection, Dover Public Library, and Grupo de Mujeres y Hombres por la Paz.
Grassroots Leadership
Austin, TX
$20,000 to conduct qualitative interviews with women seeking asylum to expose the impact of immigrant detention on asylum seekers. The goal of this project is to make Austin, TX a formal Sanctuary City and offer the nuance understanding that is key to a shift in public perception and policy change.
Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employer Network
New York, NY
$20,000 to expand upon existing participatory action research to examine the unique employer organizing model and locate how this organizing fits into a broader domestic workers’ movement to make care more accessible and affordable for all families, including workers. In collaboration with Fordham University, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, and New York University Law School.
University of South Florida School of Social Work
Tampa, FL
$19,980 to address the lack of bilingual books in schools and public libraries in Tampa, FL and Hillsborough County. This research will provide part of the needs assessment necessary to identify educational gaps and inform future efforts. In collaboration with the Hispanic Services Council.
Grants 2016
Community Economic Development Center of Southeast Massachusetts
New Bedford, MA
$19,393 to study transit dependency in Southeastern Massachusetts. The research will support a community organizing strategy. In collaboration with Bus Riders United and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.
Community Alliance of Tenants
Portland, OR
$20,000 to document the impact of no-cause evictions in Multnomah County Oregon and develop a just-cause eviction policy. In collaboration with Pacific University.
Empower DC
Washington DC
$20,000 to identify the perceptions of private housing residents about neighboring public housing in Southwest Washington DC. In collaboration with Syphax Public Housing Community, George Mason University and the University of the District of Colombia.
National Youth Organization of Pakistan
Brooklyn, NY
$19,896 to study the intersections of language heritage learning, parent involvement in education and community engagement in Pakistani families living in New York City. In collaboration with Pace University.
New York City Food Policy Center at Hunter College
New York, NY
$19,950 to identify the barriers to participation in food stamps and school nutrition programs among immigrants in New York City. In collaboration with Lehman College/City University of New York, the New York Immigrant Coalition, and the Food Bank of New York City.
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL
$20,000 to examine annual eligibility redetermination process for Illinois Medicaid beneficiaries that have limited English proficiency. In collaboration with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Workers Defense Project
Austin, TX
$20,000 to study the working conditions of construction workers in the Southern United States. In collaboration with the Partnership for Working Families, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Organizing Committee of the National Building Trades Union, the Laborers International Union of North America, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Fe y Justicia Workers Center, the Texas Organizing Project and the New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice.
Workers’ Dignity Project
Nashville, TN
$20,000 to study the prevalence of labor violations in the low-wage hospitality sector in Metro Nashville-Davidson County, and assess the impact of declining conditions on the health and well-being of workers and their families. In collaboration with Meharry Medical College.
Grants 2015
Brazilian Immigrant Center
Boston, MA
$20,000 to survey domestic workers in Connecticut about their working conditions. The study will support legislation that addresses working conditions and campaign for a domestic worker bill of rights. The project is in collaboration with University of Massachusetts-Boston.
Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service at Georgetown University
Washington, DC
$20,000 to document the challenges that immigrants face obtaining a Limited Purpose Driver’s License in Washington, DC. The project will inform a campaign to increase accessibility to the drivers’ license. The project is in collaboration with the Central American Resource Center and Trabajadores Unidos
Coalition on Homelessness
San Francisco, CA
$20,000 to study the policing of homeless people in relation to displacement, gentrification, and the criminalization of the homelessness in San Francisco. The project is in collaboration with the Western Regional Advocacy Project, the Transgender Intersex Justice Project and the University of California.
Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment
Lapwai, ID
$18,730 to document the experiences of members of the Nimiipuu community related to treaty rights, the environmental degradation of their lands, and the social and ecological context of the Clearwater and Snake River Watersheds. The process will help the Nimiipuu people, other Northwest Tribes and mainstream environmental allies develop tools and strategies to advocate for environmental justice.
Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson
Poughkeepsie, NY
$20,000 to examine how utility costs contribute to the disproportionately high housing expenses of low-income residents and poverty in the city of Poughkeepsie. The project will inform an advocacy campaign and support the development of a utility component of emerging “Renters’ Bill of Rights Campaigns locally and throughout the state. This project is in collaboration with Community Voices Heard, the Right to the City Alliance, Citizens for Local Power, and Vassar College.
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM
$20,000 for a study that explores whether problems with grammar among bilingual children are indicative of language impairment or are part of typical bilingual language development. The project will improve methods of detecting language impairments of bilingual children and reduce frequent misdiagnoses that place children in inappropriate settings. This project is in collaboration with Youth Development Inc.
We Count!
Homestead, FL
$20,000 to document wages, working conditions, safety and treatment of workers in the ornamental plant industry in Dade County, Florida. This project is in collaboration with the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy.
Worker’s Defense Project
Austin, TX
$20,000 to determine how corporate subsidy programs affect local labor markets, housing markets and economic growth. The study will inform a campaign that seeks to promote equitable economic development policies that provide better jobs, wages and benefits to communities. This project is in collaboration with Good Jobs First, the Texas Organizing Project and the University of Texas at Austin.
Grants 2014
Arise for Social Justice
Springfield, MA
$20,000 to support a community research and planning initiative to develop resident-led affordable housing strategies for two neighborhoods in Springfield, Massachusetts.
BreakOut!
New Orleans, LA
$20,000 to document the experiences of GLBTQ youth in New Orleans related to policing. The project is a partnership with the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa
Iowa City, IA
$20,000 to study wage theft of immigrant and contingent workers, and wage claim enforcement policies in Eastern Iowa. The project is a collaboration with the Iowa Policy Project, and the University of Iowa Labor Center.
Dream Team Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
$20,000 to identify the effect of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy on the educational and employment trajectories, community involvement, healthcare access, and overall well-being of undocumented immigrant young adults in California. This study is a partnership with Caitlin Patler and Hiroshi Motomura of UCLA.
Movement for Justice in El Barrio
New York, NY
$20,000 to study the enforcement of housing codes in East Harlem and its relationship to displacement and gentrification. The study is a partnership with the Data Center and the Public Science Project.
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United
New York, NY
$20,000 to to examine the practice of using card paychecks to pay food and restaurant workers. The project is a collaboration with the National Employment Law Project, the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Murphy Institute of Worker Education, and the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research.
Worker Justice Center of New York
Rochester, NY
$20,000 to document the wages and working conditions of Latino workers on dairy farms in Upstate New York. The study will also analyze related immigration laws and wage claim enforcement practices. The project is a collaboration with the Worker Center of Central New York, Syracuse University, and Cornell University
Grants 2013
Brazilian Immigrant Center
Boston, MA
$20,000 for a study with University of Massachusetts-Boston that will examine the working conditions of Brazilian immigrant women housecleaners in Massachusetts. The project will be used to reform labor laws and support the passage of a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights.
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Miami, FL
$20,000 for a study with the Research Institute of Social and Economic Policy to examine the effectiveness of Miami-Dade County’s wage theft ordinance enacted in 2010. The goal of the project is to inform the development of similar wage theft ordinances in the state.
Food Chain Workers Alliance
Los Angeles, CA
$20,000 for a study with Food Labor Research Center, and the University of California, Berkeley, to identify which messages will encourage food activists to incorporate fair wages and good working conditions into their advocacy framework that promotes sustainable and locally sourced food.
Graduate Center/John Jay College
New York, NY
$20,000 to support a study that examines the experiences and perceptions of youth and young adults regarding community policing practices in New York City. The coalition made up of Make the Road – New York, Researchers for Fair Policing, and the Public Science Project at the Graduate Center of the City College of New York will use the project to organize youth to advocate for fair and effective policing practices.
Northwest Indian Language Institute
Eugene, Oregon
$13,792 to pilot a language preservation program that uses technology to pair tribal leaders with youth of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to teach native languages to children in the Cay-Uma-Wa Headstart program in Umatilla County Oregon.
Restaurant Opportunities Center f/b/o Restaurant Opportunities Center of Houston
New York, NY
$20,000 for a comprehensive study of the working conditions in the Houston restaurant industry. The project will serve as the basis for future organizing and policy campaigns designed to improve working conditions.
Retail Action Project
New York, NY
$20,000 for a study with the Murphy Institute of the City University of New York that examines the effects of on-call scheduling on retail workers in New York City. The project will support policies that improve working conditions and opportunities in the retail sector.
Grants 2012
Central New York Community Foundation f/b/o the Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County
Syracuse, NY
$20,000 to evaluate a community literacy program for refugee families and identify what motivates participating parents to read to their children.
Farmworker Association of Florida, Inc.
Apopk, FL
$20,000 for a study that quantifies farmworker wage loss due to natural disasters in Florida, a component of the the Farmworkers Disaster Relief Project.
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center
Miami FL
$20,000 to study the economic impact of Secure Communities on local governments, businesses, and families in Miami -Dade County.
Fuerza Laboral
Central Falls, RI
$20,000 for a study of wage theft in Rhode Island.
New Immigrant Community Empowerment
Jackson Heights, NY
$20,000 to document predatory and fraudulent consumer, financial, and immigration services and businesses targeting residents in Queens, NY.
Workers Defense Project
Austin, TX
$20,000 to study working conditions in the construction industry of Texas.
YMCA of the University of Illinois
Champaign, IL
$19,000 to document the perceptions of undocumented youth and youth of undocumented parents about policies that limit their educational advancement.
2011 Grants
Food Chain Workers Alliance
New York, NY
$20,000 to support a study in collaboration with the DataCenter and the Applied Research Center of the state of food workers in the U.S. The research will identify and compare the labor market and labor force characteristics of the farm-to-table food system in terms of wages, working conditions, and demographics.
The Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School
Santa Fe, NM
$20,000 to support research that examines the roles, perceptions, of youth in native language revitalization. The study will identify strategies and opportunities in language policy and planning that directly involve youth.
National Day Labor Organizing Network
Los Angeles, CA
$20,000 to support a study in collaboration with the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago to document the impact of anti-immigrant legislation and policies on Latino residents in Phoenix, Arizona. The project will identify the social and economic costs associated with attrition-based immigration policies that create an unwelcoming environment for undocumented immigrants.
PUEBLO
Santa Barbara, CA
$20,000 for a study in collaboration with the Institute for Social Behavioral, and Economic Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara to document the effect of heightened state and federal immigration enforcement policies on Latinos in Santa Barbara, California. The project will explore if the new policing practices and racial profiling promote insecurity. It will also document the phenomenon of “turning inward” among documented and undocumented Latinos.
Restaurant Opportunities Center of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
$20,000 to conduct a matched pair audit testing study to document occupational segregation and discrimination in the greater New Orleans restaurant industry.
Student Immigrant Movement
Boston, MA
$20,000 to support a study in collaboration with Brandies University and the United We Dream Network that collects narratives from U.S. born children of undocumented parents. The goal of the project is to identify the collective themes of these stories as a strategy to support equal access to higher education and organize young people and their families in the larger movement to support the DREAM Act.
Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice
Detroit, MI
$20,000 to support a study in collaboration with the Detroit Metropolitan Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues, and Interfaith Worker Justice to document wage theft among contingent workers in Detroit, Michigan. The study will identify key features of Detroit’s contingent workforce, document the incidence of wage theft among low-wage workers, and gather data to help describe the experience of these workers.
2010 Grants
Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters
Albany, CA
$20,000 to investigate the enforcement of labor laws on public lands by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Miami, FL
$15,000 for a participatory research project to develop a database that systematically documents and reports cases of wage theft in the state of Florida. The project will support a statewide advocacy campaign to enforce wage and hour standards.
National Training and Information Center
Chicago, IL
$20,000 to analyze patterns of subprime home lending, national and metropolitan foreclosure trends, and access to credit among lower-income and minority borrowers. The data will be used to advocate for financial reform, and consumer protection.
Oiste
Boston, MA
$20,000 to document differences in student achievement in Massachusetts public schools between Two-Way Bilingual Immersion and Shelter English Immersion models of instruction for students that are dual language learners.
Public Accountability Initiative
Buffalo, NY
$20,000 to investigate the networks of influence and control over anti-poverty resources such as Community Development Block Grants in the city of Buffalo, New York and promote a more accountable and transparent allocation process.
Urban Justice Center
New York, NY
$20,000 to document the vacancy and construction status of luxury condominiums in low-income neighborhoods of New York City. The data will be used to support advocacy efforts to increase the development of affordable housing.
Washtenaw County Workers’ Center
Ann Arbor, MI
$20,000 to document wage and working conditions of domestic workers in Washtenaw County, Michigan. The data will be used to support organizing efforts that improve enforcement of labor laws and improve working conditions.
2009 Grants
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
$20,000 to examine barriers to local civic engagement for immigrant residents of the Southgate neighborhood of Reston, Virginia and to develop strategies to increase involvement in community affairs
Middle Tennessee Jobs with Justice
Nashville, TN
$15,000 to study the effects of proposed living wage ordinances on Nashville’s budget, employers and workers and how wealth building would improve workers’ quality of life and affect government subsidized programs to support impoverished workers
Planned Parenthood of New York City
New York, NY
$19,458 for a study to document sexual and reproductive health care utilization and barriers to accessing care for Mexican immigrants living in New York City
Restaurant Opportunities of New York
New York, NY
$20,000 to support a participatory study of the restaurant industry in Southeastern Michigan that will form the basis of advocacy and organizing for improved wages and working conditions
Rural Action, Inc.
Trimble. OH
$20,000 to build a staple foods industry and coalition through a participatory mapping and network analysis process in Appalachian Ohio
South Florida Jobs with Justice
Miami, FL
$15,000 for a participatory study that examines the impact of mobile home park redevelopment on residents and support efforts that minimize the social costs of relocation and community disruption
University of Massachusetts
Boston, MA
$20,000 to examine the Massachusetts’s rental housing voucher program and develop recommendations that help the program better serve the state’s lowest income residents.
2008 Grants
Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival
Vallejo, CA
$20,000 to evaluate the Master Language Apprentice Program’s effectiveness in preserving endangered native languages in California and Arizona
Boston Workers Alliance
Roxbury, MA
$15,000 to monitor the compliance of city-contracted businesses with hiring regulations prohibiting the discrimination of ex-offenders through the use of criminal background checks in Boston, Massachusetts
Community Organizing and Family Issues
Chicago, IL
$15,000 to document family perspectives on why many eligible low-income children are not enrolled in quality early childhood education
Community Voices Heard
New York, NY
$$20,000 for a resident-led study that examines governance and decision-making structures in the New York City Public Housing Authority and explores other management models that more effectively support resident participation
Fund for an Open Society
Maplewood, NJ
$20,000 to support “Capturing Lessons Learned from Intentionally Integrated Communities,†a study to document strategies for intentional integration over the last 40 years in five targeted communities
GALEO Latino Community Development Fund
Atlanta, GA
$12,000 to support a study that will analyze Latino voter turnout and engagement in Georgia’s election
Just Harvest Education Fund
Pittsburgh, PA
$15,000 to document bureaucratic and institutional barriers that prevent eligible households from using food stamps in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
William Monroe Trotter Institute at the University of Massachusetts
Boston, MA
$20,000 to support “Competition or Cooperation? – A Study of Strategic Alternatives in Community Building†which will focus on immigrants in disparate urban communities and how their needs might overlap
Worker’s Defense Project
Austin, TX
$15,000 for a study of working conditions in the construction industry in Austin, Texas
2007 Grants
Binational Migration Institute at the University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ
$15,000 to support the Immigration Enforcement Monitoring Project to enhance efforts to eliminate racial profiling and study methodologies for collecting reliable data regarding racial profiling of Arizona Latinos by immigration officers
Class Action
Hadley, MA
$15,000 to study whether there are differences in class culture that get in the way of activists of different classes working together effectively
Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
Toppenish, WA
$15,000 to restore and revitalize the indigenous language and philosophy of the confederated tribes and bands of the Yakama Nation
Different Avenues
Washington, D.C.
$15,000 to support community based research to determine the effects of current law enforcement and related social control practices on sex workers and people profiled as prostitutes in the District of Columbia
Empire Justice Center, Inc.
Rochester, NY
$15,000 to support an in-depth analysis of the factors contributing to home foreclosures on low-income families in Albany and Rochester
Immigrant Coalition
Miami, FL
$15,000 to identify the type and extent of the violation of wage and hour laws affecting plant nursery workers in the South of Miami-Dade County
Hampden Community Council
Baltimore, MD
$15,000 to support archeological excavations to uncover information about the everyday lives of Hampden’s mill workers from the 1840′s to the 1930′s
Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts
Boston, MA
$10,000 to conduct a Boston area survey that assesses Asian American attitudes toward immigration
New Mexico Voices for Children
Albuguerque, NM
$15,000 to support a study to identify racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in the disciplinary policies and practices the Albuquerque Public Schools
Washtenaw County Workers Center
Ann Arbor, MI
$15,000 to support a study to document the extent to which native-born workers are being displaced by immigrant workers and to identify problems faced by both groups
2006 Grants
Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health
Brooklyn, NY
$14,816 to support Nuestra Belleza: the Health and Beauty of Latina Women, a cardiovascular disease education program based in beauty salons in Brooklyn, New York. Funds will support a series of focus groups with Latina hair stylists.
Battered Women’s Resource Center
Brooklyn, NY
$15,000 to document the treatment of survivors of domestic violence who have been referred to the New York City Family Court system. Data will support policy recommendations and efforts to improve how family courts handle cases involving domestic violence.
Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy
Boston, MA
$15,000 to promote policies that encourage women on welfare to take advantage of education and training opportunities. Funds will support a study that examines how education and training exemptions to the welfare work requirement are implemented in Boston.
Charlotte Center for Urban Ministry, Inc.
Charlotte, NC
$15,000 to conduct a series of interviews of the homeless in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg, North Carolina community that identify the challenges of the homeless resulting from the attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs of the more stable and sheltered society.
East Point Community Action Team
East Point, GA
$15,000 to document the educational inequalities between the Northern and Southern regions of the Fulton county school system in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Funds will support the participatory action research study of the Fulton Youth Investigators.
Indigenous Language Institute
Santa Fe, NM
$15,000 to develop an information management system that makes documented and recorded language materials useful and accessible to community native language teachers. Funds will support a survey of three Indian communities in the Great Lakes region.
Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York
New York, NY
$15,000 to document discriminatory employment practices faced by restaurant workers in New York City. Funds will support interviews, focus groups, and field research.
Save Middle East Action Committee, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$15,000 to identify the post-relocation needs of displaced residents of a major redevelopment project in Baltimore, Maryland. Funds will support a series of interviews, focus groups, and analysis.
Tenants & Workers United
Alexandria, VA
$10,000 to advocate for universal access to health care programs for the uninsured in Northern Virginia. Funds will support a comparative study of the policies governing uninsured access to free and reduced price care at over twenty-four clinics and hospitals.
Tennessee State University
Nashville, TN
$15,000 to increase the capacity of the Latino community and local service providers in Nashville, Tennessee to take action to improve the health of the community. The project will test a community readiness model (CRM) to guide planning.
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR
$15,000 to develop social equity and labor standards for sustainable development projects in Eugene, Oregon. Funds will support research and focus groups that identify business and labor perspectives about sustainable development indicators and standards.
2005 Grants
Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters
Willow Creek, CA
$15,000 to survey the working conditions of labor-intensive forest workers in southwest Oregon. The survey will identify worker needs be used to develop reforms and plan organizing campaigns.
Community Farm Alliance
Frankfort, KY
$15,000 to conduct a community food assessment of Lexington, Kentucky. The project will shape a strategy and plan of action for developing a locally integrated food economy for the city.
Community Organizing and Family Issues
Chicago, IL
$15,000 to investigate class and racial variations in punitive disciplinary policies and practices in the Chicago public schools. The research will be used to develop an organizing campaign to change school policies and practices.
Community Voices Heard
New York, NY
$15,000 to study the effectiveness of New York City’s Transitional Jobs Programs. The research will be used to develop recommendations that improve the program and increase access to living wage jobs for the low-income unemployed.
DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association, Inc.
New York, NY
$15,000 to document the working conditions and family and social lives of Filipino domestic workers. The findings will be used to develop tighter regulations of the domestic work industry.
Discrimination Research Center
Berkeley, CA
$15,000 to investigate compliance with language access laws at 20 health care facilities in Alameda County. The study will generate recommendations to improve communication with residents with limited English proficiency.
English for Action
Providence, RI
$15,000 for a collaborative research project between Latino English students and medical students to investigate and address language, cultural, and policy, barriers to health care for Latino immigrants.
Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY
$15,000 to examine the relationship between day labor markets, hate, and hate crimes in communities on Long Island. The project seeks to determine if regulated hiring sites promote positive attitudes and behaviors towards ethnic minority groups.
Idaho Community Action Network
Boise, ID
$15,000 to identify language-based barriers to hospital care in Idaho and identify system-wide solutions. The study will inform local campaigns to improve access to hospital care for people with Limited English Proficiency.
Lavender Seniors of the East Bay
San Leandro, CA
$15,000 to identify characteristics of health and human service programs that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender seniors consider as LGBT seniors-friendly.
NLG/Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center
for Economic and Social Justice
Detroit, MI
$15,000 to study the impact and enforcement of living wage laws in Michigan. The research will help advocates and policymakers promote living wage implementation and enforcement practices and help workers enforce their rights to a living wage.
Sweatshop Watch
Los Angeles, CA
$15,000 for the Los Angeles Immigrant Worker Survey Project. The research will identify issues faced by immigrant workers, develop a policy framework for avocates, and inform strategies that address the displacement of garment workers.
New York State Tenants & Neighbors
Information Service
New York, NY $10,000 to identify obstacles that Community Development Corporations face in acquiring and preserving expiring-use HUD subsidized housing. The study will help inform a plan to transfer failing project-based Section-8 properties to CDCs and tenant partners.
2004 Grants
ACORN – Little Rock
Little Rock, AR
$15,000 to study housing disparities in Pulaski County, Arkansas.
ACORN- Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
$15,000 to train tenant organizers to use a web-based database and mapping system that tracks building code violations and demographic indicators.
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH
$9,000 for the Language Keeper Project. This project will test if the learning of the Mingo language can be improved by formally assigning subsets of words to individuals or families, making them more likely to preserve and pass on linguistic information.
Center for Immigrant Families
New York, NY
$15,000 for a participatory action-research project to investigate patterns of segregation and racial exclusion in the New York City Schools.
College of Notre Dame of Maryland
Baltimore, MD
$15,000 to study how Creole English-speaking high-school students from West Africa can improve their writing. The project will also test instructional strategies, train teachers in the Fairfax County, Virginia Schools, and publish an instructional handbook.
Day Laborer Collaboration
Chicago, IL
$15,000 to study the day labor industry in the Chicago Region. The study will support a metro-wide Code of Conduct Campaign that seeks to reduce unfair employment practices in the day labor market.
Grassroots Empowerment Alliance of Rome
Rome, GA
$15,000 to use a community organizing and popular education model to develop a family literacy program in Rome, Georgia.
North American Alliance for Fair Employment
Boston, MA
$15,000 to study day-labor hiring halls and identify organizing strategies that promote alliances with traditional labor unions, increase wages of laborers, and using the halls as a bridge to regular employment.
South Metropolitan Planning Council
Madison, WI
$15,000 to train residents in community based participatory research techniques and develop short-term action plans that promote affordable housing.
Suffolk University
Boston, MA
$15,000 to document the best practices for ‘community circles’ for men who are re-entering their communities after having served time in correctional institutions.
2003 Grants
Arizona State University
Phoenix, AZ
$15,000 for an ethnographic study of bilingual language practices in a Phoenix dual-language immersion elementary school. The goal of the project is to explore children’s language practices and investigate the language use and language attitudes of bilingual educators and administrators.
Big Creek People in Action f/b/o Just Connections
Caretta, WV
$15,000 to develop community based research centers in three communities of Appalachia. The project will document research and learning practices across three communities and develop a “curriculum toolbox” for activists involved in community-based research.
California Coalition for Rural Housing
Sacramento, CA
$11,700 for a statewide study of housing policies designed to stimulate affordable housing in new residential development. The project will highlight the challenges and opportunities of implementing a local exclusionary housing program.
Center on Fathers, Families, and Public Policy
Madison, WI
$15,000 for a study of birth cost recovery policies in Wisconsin. The project will determine if women are dissuaded from seeking prenatal care because policies that require fathers to repay the government for costs related to the birth of their children. The project will also educate families and health providers about state policy, seek redress for the missapplication of this policy, and advocate for the reversal of the policy in the state.
Community Research and Learning Network
Washington, DC
$12,000 for a community based research project of Project South and the Community Research and Learning Network that examines the impact of gentrification and redevelopment in low-income communities. The project seeks to find ways to develop livable communities without displacing long-time residents, and maintain the current racial, ethnic, economic, and age diversity existing in Columbia Heights and other similarly affected neighborhoods in Washington, DC.
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation
Warm Springs, OR
$15,000 to develop a native language restoration program with Portland State University. The goal of the partnership is to develop a two-way learning and working process that will help preserve and promote the tribal languages in the area. The project includes a study of language acquisition, language classes and programs, a video project, and several training workshops.
Housing and Community Network of New Jersey
Trenton, NJ
$5,000 for a study to determine if low-income, minority, and female residents in Trenton and Camden will benefit economically from New Jersey’s public school construction program. The data will help frame advocacy efforts to increase access to jobs and small business contracts for women and minorities.
Housing Works
New York, NY
$5,000 for a study of disparities in HIV/AIDS funding for services for women in the State of New York. The research will support advocacy efforts to reduce discrepancies in funding.
National Association of Social Workers Connecticut Chapter
Rocky Hill, CT
$13,777 to study the consequences for low-income women transitioning from welfare to work. The projects will support advocacy efforts that may mitigate any potential limitations of the current “work first” policies in the state of Connecticut.
National Indian Child Welfare Association
Washington, DC
$7,500 to investigate the impact NICWA research has had on practices and policies at the tribal, state, and federal level. The goal of the project is to compile a set of best practices for conducting research in tribal communities and assess if prior study recommendations were implemented.
University of Minnesota – Water Resources Center
Minneapolis, MN
$15,000 for a participatory action research project that examines the unintended costs and consequences of the university research agenda to hybridize and commodify wild rice. The goal of this project is to develop a replicable methodological framework to assess the unanticipated consequences of Western agricultural development on traditional cultures.
2002 Grants
Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival
Berkeley, CA
$10,000 to support the Breath of Life/Silent No More project to recover California native languages with no speakers. This project will train language advocates in basic phonetics, grammar, and research skills at an annual workshop held in collaboration with the Linguistics Department of the University of California at Berkeley.
California State University, Long Beach
Long Beach, CA
$15,000 to study community-based culture and language preservation programs developed by religious institutions and Even-Start Family Literacy programs. This project will examine how these programs contribute to heritage language preservation among Latinos.
Hope Chinese School
College Park, MD
$15,000 for a study of changing ethnic identities, social competence, and family relationships in connection with Chinese language classes and cultural enrichment programs at the five campuses of the Hope Chinese School.
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN
$9,250 for the creation of a deaf-centered theatrical production reflecting the diversity of life in the deaf community. The project will explore deaf culture and language, highlight cultural diversity, and educate the local hearing community.
Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance
Garden Grove, CA
$15,000 to support a needs assessment of low-income Asian American youth living in Orange County. The youth-led needs assessment will include a large scale survey and individual interviews with youth regarding their needs, assets, and influences upon their health, safety, education, socioeconomic status and well-being.
Queens College/CUNY
Flushing, NY
$14,995 to examine language variation in a New York high school. The project will examine linguistic changes occurring among the youth of New York and reveal their social significance.
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH
$15,000 to develop and evaluate a literacy program for urban Appalachian girls that bridges community and school language practices. This project will work with urban teachers, community organizers, and university researchers to create an umbrella organization that promotes literacy in Lower Price Hill, Cincinnati.
Washington University
St. Louis, MO
$15,000 for a study “local illiteracies” of students in elementary schools and adult education centers within the St. Louis public schools. The project will focus on uncovering narrative styles and discourse patterns of the local literacies students bring with them from the homes and communities and examine how teachers and students might take a more active role in the construction of the literacy curriculum.
Yale University
New Haven, CT
$15,000 to support surveys and in-depth interviews with key players in gay and lesbian media industries as part of a larger study of the relationship between ownership consolidation and content diversity in minority media systems.
2001 Grants
Behavioral Research Center of the Southwest
Albuquerque, NM
$15,000 to evaluate a school-wide system to assess truants and prevent truancy in the Albuquerque public schools. This grant supports the pilot testing of a standardized system of assessing truants. Data will be used to develop strategies to keep students in school.
California Tomorrow
Oakland, CA
$15,000 to develop a practice and policy framework for programs and schools for bilingual and bicultural youth. This grant supports efforts to document exemplary and promising community and school efforts that promote bilingualism and biculturalism in ten communities.
Center for Family, Work and Community – University of Massachusetts Lowell
Lowell, MA
$15,000 to support a study examining housing affordability and facilitate a community planning process that addresses housing policy in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. This grant supports the collection of housing data and a series of community planning forums.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
Washington, D.C.
$15,000 to support a pilot study that will examine the barriers to women leaving welfare in Washington, D.C. The research will involve qualitative interviews with welfare recipients to identify barriers to self-sufficiency and supportive services.
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Boston, MA
$15,000 to represent low-income residents of the threatened Julian Steele public housing development in Lowell, Massachusetts. This grant supports legal research, planning and advocacy work with and on behalf of residents.
Multicultural Education, Training and Advocacy (META)
Somerville, MA
$7,500 to analyze the language and content of curriculum used in Boston Public School classes with limited English proficient students and compare it with the language and content used on state competency exams. META will present its findings to parent groups and provide training and technical assistance to help them develop an action plan for addressing their concerns regarding education reform and state testing policies.
Pennsylvania State University – Center for Language Acquisition
University Park, PA
$15,000 to support a cross-cultural study of school bullying. The study investigates the cultural aspects of school bullying using focus group data collected from Japan, Korea and the United States.
Toledo Acorn
Toledo, OH
$15,000 for a participatory study of the barriers and threats to home ownership in the Old South End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. This grant will support a door-to-door survey of residents, data collection on housing home ownership patterns and the training of residents in community research and housing advocacy.