The Fulfilling the Dream Fund was established in 2004 as a five-year initiative with a $10 million pledge by the Ford Foundation. Funds raised by other donors are matched on a one-to-one basis.
The Dream Fund supports efforts that:
- Improve public understanding of systemic barriers to opportunity and the benefits to society of increased racial and gender diversity;
- Expand philanthropic support for affirmative action;
- Demonstrate the links between racial/gender exclusion and systemic flaws in education and employment that affect the broader public; and
- Create more platforms to explore the nation’s commitment to opportunity.
Grantmaking
To date, the Dream Fund has invested over $9 million in grants made to 43 organizations nationwide. Dream Fund grantees are working towards preserving and expanding equal opportunity that, in turn, reduces race and gender disparities by creating a body of knowledge, developing new communication tools and messages and creating new, innovative approaches. As part of the initial five-year design, the Dream Fund has transitioned into its closing phase. This means a primary emphasis is placed on providing documentation and assessment of components and activities to capture lessons and recommendations from grantee partners and donors.
Key Donors
Over 40 donors have participated in the Dream Fund at the national, regional and local level. At the national level, key donors have included: the Carnegie Corporation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Falk Foundation, Ford Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and Open Society Institute. In addition to national grantmaking, the Dream Fund has supported projects in nine states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
For more information about the Fund and its work, visit the Dream Fund website.
To see an innovative public education video from FDF grantee, African American Policy Forum on obstacles people of color face to achievement, click here.
