The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has created a U.S. Racial Justice initiative, building on the momentum of its five-year justice and equity fund established in 2020 to support efforts to ensure our institutions better reflect the values we all aspire to – fairness, freedom, and equitable access to opportunity for all.
With the initial five-year effort now reaching its planned conclusion, and guided by the insights and learnings gained through this grantmaking, the Packard Foundation is evolving the fund into a dedicated U.S. Racial Justice initiative.
This new initiative reflects a deeper, more sustained commitment to building a country where everyone, regardless of race, can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. Because no matter where you come from, what you look like, or how much money your family has, everyone should have what they need to learn, grow, and thrive. This is what makes our democracy strong, makes our economy more resilient, and moves our nation closer to living up to its highest ideals.
“We have long supported work to help children, families, and communities thrive. Yet when we look at the data and reflect on our experience, a clear pattern emerges – often Black communities face the most severe and persistent gaps in opportunity, health outcomes, and overall well-being. These disparities demand focused attention and action,” said Nancy Lindborg, President and CEO of the Packard Foundation. “Our U.S. Racial Justice initiative is helping to identify and address barriers that unfairly affect some people and keep us from fulfilling our nation’s founding promise – that everyone is created equal and deserves the chance to live a healthy, meaningful life and contribute fully to a stronger America.”
Led by Meshie Knight, U.S. Racial Justice director, the initiative will fund three strategic areas of work:
1. Strengthening the leadership and voices of those most affected by injustice in the U.S. South, so they can help shape our collective future.
In the South, home to most of the nation’s Black population, need and opportunity come together in powerful ways. Rooted in a legacy of resilience and leadership, and central to the story of American progress, the South has the potential to drive transformative change that benefits communities across the nation.
Building on the Foundation’s history of investment in reproductive, maternal, and child health in Louisiana and Mississippi – where outcomes are among the worst in the nation – we will further invest in organizations working to drive change that centers justice and equity in the region. This initiative will also support greater coordination and collaboration among organizations working to improve the lives of people who call the South home.
2. Investing in efforts to defend the constitutional and legal rights guaranteed to all.
Civil rights are at the heart of our nation’s values, yet are increasingly under threat, jeopardizing the progress made during the Civil Rights Movement and in the years since.
In response, the U.S. Racial Justice initiative will fund efforts that seek to deepen public understanding of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits the states from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” highlighting its original purpose as a tool for inclusion, protection, and racial justice for all.
The initiative will also support legal advocates who are tracking, analyzing, and coordinating strategies to effectively advance new legal theories that ensure fairness and protect civil rights for everyone. In addition, the initiative will invest in strategic communications efforts that bring people together around our shared, aspirational ideals of freedom, equity, and justice.
3. Catalyzing big ideas that propel us toward a more just and equitable future.
There are people across the country with groundbreaking ideas capable of unleashing transformative change to create a future where everyone in our country can flourish.
The U.S. Racial Justice initiative will help galvanize these ideas by providing resources to develop creative solutions that challenge and change our current understanding of what is possible. Funding will spark innovation from people with a variety of perspectives, particularly those advancing solutions to inequities that disproportionally affect Black people and communities.
“The U.S. Racial Justice initiative supports the longstanding efforts of grantees and partners who have been leading the way on this work. We are honored and energized to carry funding for racial justice forward through a dedicated initiative, building an America where the color of our skin does not determine how far we’re able to go, how big we’re able to dream, or how healthy we’re able to be.”
This initiative advances solutions that create ripple effects – strengthening systems, expanding opportunity, and building a more just society for everyone. For example, one of the efforts in the South the initiative will support is work to protect and expand Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid improves health care access not only for low-income Black families, but for all families with low incomes, while providing funding needed to keep local hospitals open, providing care and jobs for entire communities.
The launch of the U.S. Racial Justice initiative marks a critical step forward in a commitment the Packard Foundation began several years ago.
“We recognize that the road ahead will be long and challenging, and that progress will come with both successes and setbacks,” Knight added. “Yet, true to the Foundation’s 60-year legacy of bringing people together to address some of the country’s most complex problems, we remain steadfast in our commitment to working alongside grantees, partners, and peers to help build a nation where opportunity is truly open to all.”
