Schumann Fund program priorities fall into three categories:
Affordable homes
& healthy communities
Foster affordable homes, economic mobility, and healthy,
resilient communities for children and families.
We support strategies and approaches that foster stability and opportunity for families and children within the context of healthy, resilient neighborhoods and communities.
We recognize the centrality of a stable, affordable home and economic supports that make it possible for children and families to succeed.
We support programs and policies that address family homelessness prevention, eviction prevention, and family economic stability and mobility as well as initiatives that support healthy communities.
Advancing racial equity and eliminating racial disparities in access to housing, income and wealth, and healthy communities are central goals of these investments.
Early childhood
& education
Support low-income children and families of color to thrive through opportunities in early childhood development and youth education.
We invest in high-quality early childhood programs and efforts to advance equitable early childhood public policy in New Jersey.
We support strategies to develop a holistic early childhood system that supports infants and children from birth to age eight, including high-quality, affordable childcare and pre-school.
We seek to eliminate racial and socioeconomic barriers and foster access to high-quality early learning environments.
We also support initiatives and public policies that advance a high-quality, equitable K-12 public education system and opportunities in youth education.
Child welfare
& youth justice
Advance reforms in systems affecting children and youth, such as the child welfare, juvenile justice, and immigration systems, to support racial equity and youth justice.
We invest in policies, programs, and community power-building work to foster reforms in systems that disproportionately affect children and youth of color including child welfare, juvenile justice, and immigration systems.
We seek to end racial disparities in these systems and support efforts to advance youth justice, including systems reforms led by those most impacted, storytelling and narrative shift, leadership development, and public policy change.
We support organizations engaged in a range of complementary strategies, including:
Organized and engaged communities
We support non-profit organizations in Essex County to civically engage, organize, and empower youth, parents, and families to make changes in their lives and in their communities to advance racial and economic equity.
Effective programs that center
low-income children and families of color
We support programs in Essex County that create educational, economic, and social-emotional opportunities for low-income children, youth, and families of color that have a lasting positive influence on their lives and, where possible, advance systemic change.
Equitable public policy
We invest in efforts to engage the public through informed education, research, and advocacy around policy issues in our core impact areas facing the State of New Jersey. Racial and economic equity are centered in the public policy work we support. We seek to connect statewide public policy to community empowerment efforts and local program implementation.
Please note that our direct service grantmaking is limited to Essex County.
We fund statewide public policy work.