"We simply cannot enter the next century at each other's
throats. . . We are at a crucial crossroad in the history of this
nation — and we either hang together by combating the forces
that divide and degrade us or we hang separately. Do we have the
intelligence, humor, imagination, courage, tolerance, love, respect,
and will to meet the challenge?" — Cornel West
| In 1998, the Ford Foundation and the Charles
Stewart Mott Foundation joined forces with six local foundations
to launch a major initiative called the Community Foundations/Intergroup
Relations Program (CF/IR). The initiative provides support
to neighborhood and community projects in six |
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metropolitan areas to improve race and ethnic relations between
recent immigrants and longtime residents of the United States.
The purpose of the Program is to:
- Support innovative neighborhood and community projects that work to improve
race and ethnic relations between recent immigrants and longtime residents;
- Strengthen community foundations to effectively address intergroup relations;
and
- Enable community foundations to build capacity, expertise, and support
so that this work can be extended beyond the three years of national funding.
The three-year project will cost $5.1 million. Ford and Mott will each contribute
$1.5 million, and the remainder will be raised by the six participating community
foundations. Grantees will receive awards ranging from $60,000 to $510,000. During
the first year of the project, the planning phase, the foundations will form
advisory committees comprised of diverse community, neighborhood, and philanthropic
leaders to help determine the kinds of projects each will support during the
two-year implementing phase. Upon submission of a detailed implementation plan,
each local foundation will receive $225,000 per year for two years for administrative
costs and for grants to support local community projects. In years two and three
of the initiative each local foundation will also be required to raise an additional
$175,000 per year for re-granting purposes.
One goal of the CF/IR Program is to strengthen participating foundations
so they can address conflicts between diverse groups and raise awareness of
this work and local funds for it. To help attain this goal, the local foundations
will receive technical assistance in program planning, design, implementation
and evaluation; donor development; and strategic communications with the media,
local communities, and other funders. Technical assistance for planning, design,
and evaluation will be provided by ASDC in Gaithersburg, MD; donor development
help will be given by Dorothy Reynolds, a consultant for the Mott Foundation;
and communications assistance will be provided by the National Immigration
Forum in Washington, D.C. 
Strategy
This program is built on the belief that bringing diverse groups of people
together to pursue common objectives can result in better community conditions
and improved racial and ethnic relations.
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Elements of Similar, Successful Projects Include:
- A shared, concrete goal;
- Acknowledgment that goals are more likely to be achieved
when diverse groups of people work together instead of alone;
and
- Deliberate strategies to overcome conflicts that arise from
racial and ethnic differences.
The CF/IR program will seek to replicate these elements in a variety
of neighborhood and community projects. |
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Below are examples of current projects that utilize this approach:
- In the Washington, DC area, Latino and Asian immigrants have joined forces
with white and black neighbors to advocate for improved housing conditions;
- In Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, Southeast Asian, Eastern European, Latin
American, and African immigrants are working with white, Native American
Indian, and African-American neighbors in a coalition called the Organization
of the Northeast (ONE) to advocate for better services, and improved housing
and to stimulate economic development in the community;
- In central Brooklyn, African and Caribbean immigrants are working with
African-Americans to build economic power by managing a community-controlled
credit union;
In this program, each local foundation will decide how to apply the initiative's
general approach to action-based intergroup relations work. Some groups might
decide to focus on a diverse neighborhood and fund a number of projects that
bring recent immigrants and longtime residents together to pursue common goals.
Others might opt for a community-wide approach to pressing issues such as education,
health, housing, or crime. It is hoped that the variety and creativity in six
different sites will yield important insights and lessons for future intergroup
work along these lines.
Projects CF/IR Builds On...
Recent pilot projects and research sponsored by the Ford and Mott Foundations
have underscored the effectiveness of this approach to building bridges in diverse
communities.
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Changing Relations, a report to the Ford Foundation regarding
relations between immigrants and longtime residents in six cities, found
that the key to improving intergroup relations is to create opportunities
for newcomers and established residents to come together to strengthen
their community through efforts such as improving housing conditions, reducing
crime, and securing better services.
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Together in our Differences, a report published by the National
Immigration Forum identified promising local initiatives in four metropolitan
areas where immigrants and native-born Americans organized to pursue shared
objectives around issues such as housing, crime, credit, education, and
health. The report was supported by the Ford, Mott and the Meyer Foundations.
Following in-depth research, a diverse advisory panel concluded that successful
projects incorporated both a concrete goal and a commitment to improved
intergroup relations.
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Initiative to Strengthen Neighborhood Inter-group Assets, a funding
collaborative inspired by Changing Relations and Together in Our Differences,
established by the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation in Washington,
DC. During the past three years, the Meyer initiative has made grants to
nonprofit organizations to improve race and ethnic relations between recent
immigrants and longtime residents. A recent evaluation indicates that the
most successful projects (1) encourage collaboration among organizations
that serve different populations; (2) strengthen organizational structures
to do intergroup work, including hiring ethnic group members to reach out
to specific populations; and (3) make tangible community improvements.
The Initiative is currently housed at the Community Foundation for the
National Capital Region.
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The Community Foundations/Neighborhood Small Grants Program, an
initiative with 17 community foundations funded by the Mott Foundation
from 1984 through 1994, made grants to grassroots neighborhood groups.
The grantees used funds to create their own agendas and expand their talent
base to build healthier neighborhoods.
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Intergroup Relations in the United States: Research Perspectives,
a Ford Foundation-funded report published by the National Conference for
Community and Justice (formerly the National Conference of Christians and
Jews), summarizes a cross-section of social science literature regarding
intergroup relations. The report concludes that increased acceptance of
the goals of integration and racial equality has put America "on the
road to intergroup tolerance and equality." It cautions that discrimination
and prejudice still exist, and that dismantling stereotypes and misconceptions
requires tremendous patience and persistence.
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Changing Communities; Changing Foundations, also known as the
Ford Diversity Initiative, enabled 20 community foundations to explore
promising and creative approaches for increasing inclusiveness in governance,
asset development, grantmaking/program, community linkages and business
practices. The Ford Foundation supported this effort from 1993 through
1997. |
Participating Community Foundations
Reports and Publications Related to Intergroup Relations
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Initiative to Strengthen Neighborhood
Inter-group Assets (February 2001)
The Initiative to Strengthen Neighborhood Inter-group Assets was established
in 1997 "to promote and strengthen cross-racial and cross-cultural
relationships, including those between recent immigrants and long-time
residents, by addressing racism and fostering the equitable distribution
of political and economic power and resources to improve neighborhoods." This
document summarizes the accomplishments of the initiative and the lessons
learned by its participants.
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Community Foundations Building Bridges
and Capacity to Strengthen Immigrant Race Relations (September 2000)
The purposes of this document are (1) to share the knowledge that the national
funders, participating community foundations, and consultants developed
during the first year of the CF/IR program; and (2) to provide a tool that
funders can use when reviewing grant proposals for strengthening intergroup
relations between recent immigrants and long-time residents.
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Principles for Intergroup Projects:
A First Look (June 1999)
This publication describes ten principles for effective efforts to strengthen
intergroup relations. The principles are based on research and on a systematic
examination of practitioners' experiences. A brief discussion of the successes
and challenges inherent in applying the principles is also included. These
principles are presented as a work in progress. |
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