Posted on Thursday, March, 14th, 2024 in Newsroom.
NEW YORK—The Edward W. Hazen Foundation, a private foundation committed to supporting the organizing and leadership of young people and communities of color, is fulfilling its 2019 promise to spend down all its assets. Hazen has made its final grants—moving $3.75 million to 43 nonprofit organizations. After nearly 100 years of operation, the Foundation will close its doors this May.
“The work of our grantee partners is our inspiration. Across the country, they are fighting for immigration reform and LGBTQ+ rights, ending juvenile incarceration, and demanding equitable access to quality public education,” said Lori Bezahler, president of the Hazen Foundation. “We could not have imagined the conditions that our grantees would confront during this period—a global pandemic and uprisings in the face of the murder of more Black men and women. It has added to the urgency of the struggle, and our grantees have met the moment with courage and creativity.”
The grants are the final payments on long-term commitments to youth and parent organizing groups working for education and racial justice. The Foundation provides general operating support that allows organizations the space to breathe and think about how to strengthen their strategies and practices, as well as test new ideas, pursue campaigns, and build infrastructure. Hazen takes particular care to fund organizations in under-funded communities—especially those in rural parts of the country—that are traditionally neglected by philanthropy.
These final grants are the culmination of Hazen’s five-year process to spend out its endowment. The decision to put itself out of business was made by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2019. The strategy for these years—including $2.8 million in emergency grants made at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic—was developed in collaboration with Hazen’s grantee partners. Involving these organizations in setting strategy and funding priorities has enabled the Foundation to be a responsive partner and better allocate resources.
“Philanthropy should not be in the business of hoarding resources. We challenged ourselves to be accountable to the urgency of our times and the demands for social justice and racial equity. By centering our communities right now, we are going all in to move toward true liberation and freedom,” said Alberto Retana, CEO of Community Coalition and Hazen Foundation Board Chair. “We are spending down to make our resources work as hard as possible in the fight for equity and justice when it’s needed most.”
“Our democracy is on the line. By putting the full force of the Hazen Foundation’s resources to work, we are going all in to support young people and their leadership,” said Rashad Robinson, President of Color of Change and a Hazen Trustee. “Young people have always been at the forefront of social movements and today is no different. They deserve our full support.”
The full list of the Hazen Foundation’s final grantees:
Alliance for Quality Education
California Native Vote Project
Connecticut Students for a Dream
Funders Collaborative on Youth Organizing
Gender & Sexualities Alliance Network
Kenwood Oakland Community Organization
Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools
Leaders Igniting Transformation
New Settlement Parent Action Committee
New York State Youth Leadership Council
OPAL Youth Environmental Justice Alliance
Power U Center for Social Change
Providence Youth Student Movement
School of Unity and Liberation
Youth United for Community Action
The Edward W. Hazen Foundation, a private foundation established in 1925, is committed to supporting organizations led by young people and communities of color in dismantling inequities based on race and class. Learn more at https://hazenfoundation.org/