Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund making real change in the lives of historically underserved, marginalized populations
Increasing diversity in the concert, event and touring industries. Providing resources to Black organizers and leaders of social justice organizations. Supporting return-to-community programs for the formerly incarcerated.
That’s a sampling of the work by the Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund’s third set of grantee partners in a continuing effort to combat systemic racism and support historically underserved and marginalized populations.
With investments in 15 organizations totaling $9.35 million, the latest grants focus on the Fund’s three strategic pillars – criminal justice reform, education, and arts and culture amid the rising prominence of youth organizing in racial justice movements across Warner Music Group’s global markets.
Nearly 70% of the selected organizations are women-led and a third of all grants involve gender equity issues – from creating opportunities for women in the music industry to dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline for girls of color, according to the Fund’s Jan. 20 announcement.
The grants are part of the $100 million dollar commitment by The Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation to build more just and equitable communities around the world.
Among the latest recipients: the Brazil Human Rights Fund, an independent, non-profit foundation building sustainable mechanisms to channel resources for human rights defenders in Brazil.
Ana Valéria Araujo, the Brazilian fund’s executive director, and Allyne Andrade, its deputy director, said the partnership “has the potential to strengthen the racial justice movement in our country [Brazil] and promote democracy.”
Another grantee, A New Way of Life, based in Los Angeles, serves and empowers women coming home from prison.
Founder Susan Burton said in a news release that the grant will help the organization expand into new states and “continue providing pathways to freedom and self-sufficiency for formerly incarcerated women.”
On top of the $9.35 million investment for the latest set of grantees, the Fund’s Board of Directors has established the Reservoir Fund, which will provide grantees with capacity-building, training, coaching and technical assistance resources to sustain their work.
“It is imperative we continue to support organizations and groups that are making a direct, positive impact for historically underserved and marginalized populations. The work being done by the grantees, and all those who we have supported, is inspiring, which is why we are setting up a mechanism to provide continued resources and tools” said Len Blavatnik, founder of Access Industries and the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
The other grantees are the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), ARRAY Alliance, Bard Prison Initiative, Borealis Philanthropy, Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), BOLD (Black Organizing for Leadership & Dignity), Diversify the Stage, Gender Amplified, Grantmakers for Girls of Color (G4GC), Hidden Genius Project, Highlander Center, Manos Visibles and West African Vocational Education (WAVE)
The Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund invests in organizations that build more just and equitable communities and create real change in the lives of historically underserved and marginalized people.
Investments are focused on organizations that are led by and work to benefit affected populations, principally Black populations, in their intersectional dimensions. The fund focuses on supporting three key strategic pillars: education, arts and culture, and criminal justice reform.
Read the full announcement here.