Fulfilling the Dream Fund

The Fulfilling the Dream Fund (Dream Fund) is a funders' collaborative to support affirmative action and other efforts to promote full inclusion of people of color and women in our society, consistent with our core democratic values. The Dream Fund focuses on eliminating systemic barriers to opportunity in three areas: education, employment and contracting.

The Dream Fund was established in 2004 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 and projects

As of April 2007, the Dream Fund has invested more than $6 million in grants made to 43 organizations nationwide. (See below.) Dream Fund grantees are developing new communication tools and messages, creating a body of knowledge on the impact of anti-affirmative action initiatives and creating new, innovative approaches to continuing diversity. With Dream Fund support, Firelight Media developed an affirmative action digital toolkit (www.affirmativeactionadvocacy.com) which serves as a resource for grantees and activists in the field. Arise, a documentary exploring the consequences of the California ban on affirmative action and the value of race and gender diversity in national life, is also available on the website.

Key donors

There are 30 donors participating in the Dream Fund at the national, regional and local level. At the national level, key donors include: the Carnegie Corporation; Marguerite Casey Foundation; Falk Foundation; Ford Foundation; C.S. Mott Foundation; and the Open Society Institute. Regional and local donors support projects in six states: California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

For more information about the Fund and its work, visit the Dream Fund website.