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When BLOOMers like Zakeer succeed, everyone benefits. The work of BLOOM and our partners Brotherhood Crusade and Social Justice Learning Institute are crucial to realizing the promise of our young Black men. The amount of money our state spends annually on prisons would pay for a CSU education for every single graduating senior in California.
When Dr. D’Artagnan Scorza wanted to move the cause of educational equity for young Black men forward, he started by looking back. He founded the Black Male Youth Academy at his alma mater, Inglewood’s Morningside High School, to help young men of color break cycles of recidivism and create opportunities for academic achievement.
I wound up on probation for three or four months. It was my first offense. Looking back, it was a blessing, because it opened me up to BLOOM. It’s changing me for the better. I started off at Social Justice Learning Institute’s Black Male Youth Academy, and BLOOM is like a family. All the doors are open. They give you advice. They’re mentors.
Mykol Lewis is making a difference and sowing seeds among young men in an effort to build a stronger South L.A. This belief in making our communities better is the trademark of Brotherhood Crusade.
When we believe in, invest in and support our young men, they will thrive. By doubling down on our focus on high school completion and reducing recidivism, youth participating in BLOOM saw improved outcomes in school and were better able to complete the terms of their probation and separate themselves from the system.
Though they are only 10 percent of all L.A. young people, Black youth make up nearly a third of all youth on probation. And once in the system, it is hard to get out, with more than 80 percent facing re-arrest within three years. We are losing out on countless innovators and entrepreneurs – a generation of civic and community leaders who could shape the future of L.A. By investing in the potential of our young Black men, we can help them sow the seeds for life success and break the school-to-prison pipeline.
We are facing a crisis of potential, and nowhere is hit harder than South Los Angeles. Young black men who drop out of high school face a 90 percent chance of incarceration, but a diploma reduces that to 12 percent. Learn how CCF’s BLOOM initiative is helping young Black men in South L.A. onto positive paths so they can succeed in school, work and life.
By Nicole Duncan, FSR Magazine
LOS ANGELES – April 11, 2016 – The California Community Foundation (CCF) has awarded $5,130,787 through 52 grants to Los Angeles County nonprofit organizations working to address pressing needs and improve the lives of Los Angeles County residents. CCF’s grants this quarter include $1,435,000 to provide critical support to immigrant rights organizations working to defend due process and empower new Americans communities to thrive through CCF’s Immigrant Integration initiative. These grants offer a rapid response to the changing policy environment and focus on promoting citizenship and naturalization, expanding access to legal representation and “Know Your Rights” education among immigrant communities. Nonprofit partners of the Los Angeles Scholars Investment Fund (LASIF) received $1,680,000 in grants to help young Angelenos prepare for, pay for and succeed in college. Launched in 2012 in partnership with the College Futures Foundation, LASIF combines college and financial aid guidance services with need-based scholarships, and has granted more that $15 million to partners working on innovative ways to ensure college access and success for thousands of low-income students. “Our work is made possible by the generosity of our donors, the dedication and innovation of nonprofits and the vision of the public and private sector partners who have joined us in our mission,” said CCF President & CEO Antonia Hernández. “Working together with the diverse communities that define Los Angeles County, we can build a future in which all residents have the opportunity to thrive.” Additional grants this quarter reflect CCF’s diverse priority areas in the arts, civic engagement, education, health, housing and economic opportunity and youth empowerment. Please see below for a full list of grants this quarter. CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANTS BY FUNDING AREA March 2017 PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES NUMBER,OF GRANTS AMOUNT Arts Company of Angels CRE Outreach EngAGE, Inc. Hatchery Arts aka Hollywood Fringe Festival Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural 5 $415,000 Civic Engagement & Public Policy YMCA Latino Equality Alliance Digital Democracy 3 $390,000 Education Pipeline City Year-Los Angeles Summer Algebra Institute Spark- Los Angeles 3 $385,000 Health Equality California Institute, ONEgeneration Memorial Care Medical Center Foundation Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders L.A. Community Health Project UCLA Family Medicine UCLA Pediatrics USC Neurology 8 $401,259 Housing & Economic Opportunity Opportunity Fund L.A. Kitchen Meet Each Need With Dignity Uncommon Good 4 $292441 Immigrant Integration Asian Americans Advancing Justice Los Angeles California Immigrant Policy Center Black Alliance for Just Immigration Central American Resource Center Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) COFEM Council on American-Islamic Relations California Immigrant Defenders Law Center Korean Resource Center Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund National Day Laborer Organizing Network National Immigration Law Center Public Counsel Regents of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA Dream Resource Center) Undocumedia, Inc. NALEO Educational Fund University of California – UC Undocumented Legal Services Center Town Hall Los Angeles,California Bar Foundation 19 $1,435,000 Los Angeles Scholars Investment Fund Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles Bright Prospect Heart of Los Angeles Pasadena City College Foundation (Upward Bound Programs) Project GRAD Los Angeles United Friends of the Children University of Southern California (Neighborhood Academic Initiative) Walking Shield 8 $1,686,000 Youth Empowerment Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Los Angeles California Youth Connection 2 $132,807 GRAND TOTAL 52 $5,130,787 The California Community Foundation has served as a public, charitable organization since 1915, empowering donors to pursue their own personal passions and to collaborate with us in addressing the root causes of challenges in Los Angeles County. CCF stewards $1.5 billion in assets and manages 1,600 charitable foundations, funds and legacies. For more information, please visit www.calfund.org. CONTACT Chris Compton marcomm@www.calfund.org (213) 413-4130
CCF launched BLOOM (Building a Lifetime of Options and Opportunities for Men) to help who young Black men who are or are at risk of becoming involved the juvenile justice system onto positive paths towards success. Since 2012, BLOOM's combination of mentorship, character development and specially-tailored programming has helped nearly 1,000 young men succeed in high school, higher education and life.