Sullivan & Cromwell - Pipeline Crisis -

	The following links will take you to the efforts of other organizations who share our concerns about the pipeline crisis and our efforts in creating winning strategies for young black men. 1. National 2. Local 3. Philanthropic 1. National
	Achieve Created by the nation's governors and business leaders, Achieve helps states raise academic standards and achievement so that all students graduate ready for college, careers, and citizenship. Far too many young people leave our schools today without the skills and knowledge needed to compete in college, careers, and life. Achieve’s goal is to help every state close the expectations gap so that all students graduate ready for success.
	ACORN ACORN is one of the nation’s largest and most successful networks of community organizations, with over 400,000 low- and moderate-income members organized into more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in 110 cities across the country.
	Agenda for Children Tomorrow (ACT) * 2 Washington St., 20th Floor, New York, NY 10004 (212) 487-8618 actnet1@earthlink.net The Agenda for Children Tomorrow (ACT) has for twenty years built collaborative groups of health and social service providers, consumers, and concerned others in order to create services for children and families that are comprehensive, non-duplicative, accessible, supportive of families’ needs and easy to use; and to connect economic development, housing and employment decision-making and resources to this network. Recognizing that children’s development is economically, physically, emotionally, and spiritually linked to the health of a neighborhood, ACT, a public/private partnership under three New York mayors, helps each community rediscover its hidden strengths and potential assets, and find its own solutions to meet its own needs. ACT brings together neighborhood residents, service providers, community and business leaders and local government officials in an alliance where all share the same goal: to make life better for the neighborhood’s families and children.
	Alliance for Excellent Education Launched in 2001, the Alliance for Excellence in Education is a national nonprofit policy and advocacy organization that works toward a national goal of making every child a high school graduate, prepared for postsecondary education, and a success in life. The Alliance is a respected source of information about the dropout crisis in America’s high schools as well as on the researched and practiced-based solutions that can improve schools and lead to higher levels of student achievement and attainment.
	Achievement First 403 James Street New Haven, CT 06513 (203) 773-3223 1137 Herkimer Street Brooklyn, NY 11233 (718) 774-0906 Achievement First is a non-profit charter school management organization that operates a growing network of high-performing, K-12 public schools in Connecticut and New York. AF was founded in 2003 by the leaders of Amistad Academy, a nationally acclaimed charter school in New Haven, CT. The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America's children. We believe that all children, regardless of race or economic status, can succeed if they have access to a great education. Achievement First schools will provide all of our students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world, and to serve as the next generation of leaders of their communities. In 2008-2009, the Achievement First network includes fifteen academies, serving 3,700 students.
	The Annie E. Casey Family Foundation The Annie E. Casey Foundation fosters public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today’s vulnerable children and families. In pursuit of this goal, the foundation makes grants that help states, cities, and neighborhoods fashion more innovative, cost-effective responses to those needs.
	Blackstar Project The BlackStar Project believes that in order to eliminate the racial academic achievement gap, it must strengthen parental and community involvement in education. Its mission is to provide educational services that help pre-school through college students succeed academically and become knowledgeable and productive citizens with the support of their parents, families, schools and communities. Additionally, their programs help students aspire to post-secondary educational opportunities and training while exploring careers that will be emotionally, intellectually and financially rewarding. The BlackStar Project works with low-income black and Latino students who attend low-achieving schools in disadvantaged communities.
	Community Service Society * Focus: Disconnected Youth The mission of the Community Service Society is to identify problems which create a permanent poverty class in New York City, and to advocate the systemic changes required to eliminate such problems. CSS focuses on enabling, empowering, and promoting opportunities for poor families and individuals to develop their full potential.
	Congressional Black Caucus Foundation With a focus on Leadership Education, Public Health, and Economic Development, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation is the premier organization that creates, identifies, analyzes and disseminates policy-oriented information critical to advancing African Americans and people of African descent towards equity in economics, health and education. Under the leadership of Rep. Danny Davis in 2003, the State of the African-American Male (SAAM) Initiative aimed to take a proactive stance in determining policy initiatives to facilitate the economic and social well being and wellness of black men in the United States.
	Dellums Commission The Dellums Commission was initiated to study the obstacles and reverse the policies that have kept many young men of color from living healthy, prosperous lives. Building on current data, Chairman Ron Dellums and colleagues commissioned 15 research papers that address critical issues pertaining to African-American males such as correctional policy, education policy and literacy, health policy, family support child welfare, drug policy, incarceration, poverty, discrimination, among other things.
	Eagle Academy for Young Men Eagle Academy for Young Men is a charter school based in New York City where most of its students are African-American boys. The Academy offers one-on-one mentoring program that matches students, based on their career interests and or social needs, with a member of 100 Black Men for the duration of high school. The school prepares young black men for college, while educating them about obstacles they may face and how to overcome them.
	Just for the Kids (Texas) The National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization and the national sponsor of Just for the Kids. The goal is to support efforts to reach excellence in education - to raise academic expectations and to promote the practices that will help more students reach college/career readiness.
	NAACP Legal Defense Fund: Breaking the School-to-Prison-Pipeline Campaign The NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Breaking the School-to-Prison-Pipeline Campaign, which they use to describe the practice of funneling students, primarily children of color, out of public schools and into the juvenile justice systems. The report finds that the pipeline begins with under funded and neglected schools. The report also documents how school administrators have responded to increased behavioral problems and school administrator’s irrational fears of violence with a variety of overzealous discipline policies that remove students from their schools, and involve the criminal justice system.
	National Center on Education and the Economy The National Center on Education is dedicated to providing the tools and technical assistance the nation needs to lead the world in education and training.
	National Organization of Concerned Black Men (CBM) Founded by Philadelphia police officers, CBM’s vision is to fill the void of positive black male role models in many communities by providing mentors and programs that affirm the care and discipline that all youth need, while also providing opportunities for academic and career enrichment. One of their many programs includes The Peer Education and Reproductive Counseling for Young Men (PERCY) project. This teen pregnancy prevention program is designed specifically for boys, and seeks to encourage young men to take personal responsibility for their sexual behavior.
	National Urban League * Focus: Campaign for African-American Achievement The Campaign for African-American Achievement is one of the National Urban League’s programs most directly aligned with The Pipeline Crisis/Winning Strategies initiative. A coalition of over 100 national African-American organizations working to create infrastructures to lift the academic levels of black youth.
	Parents for Public Schools This is a national organization of community-based chapters working to strengthen public schools through broad-based enrollment. Invigorated by a diverse membership, the proactive involvement helps public schools attract all families in a community by making sure all schools effectively serve all children, because a quality public education is vital to our democracy and to America's future.
	Phelps Stokes Fund The Phelps Stokes Fund is America's oldest continuously operating foundation serving the needs of African Americans, Native Americans, Africans and the rural and urban poor. The Fund's activity is founded on the conviction that true education depends on a fundamental respect for human dignity, the development of the full capacities inherent in each human being, and the cultivation of social harmony. The Phelps Stokes Fund has initiated, conducted, and sponsored hallmark educational surveys and research studies that were fundamental in shaping the improvement of education for African Americans, Native Americans, and Africans.
	Public Education Network The Public Education Network (PEN) is a national association of local education funds and individuals working to advance public school reform in low-income communities across our country. PEN believes an active, vocal constituency is the key to ensuring that every child, in every community, benefits from a quality public education.
	Schott Foundation for Public Education The Black Boys Initiative’s goal is to create a movement to improve the educational experiences of black boys to ensure that they graduate from high school with the confidence to become successful members of society. Through this initiative, Schott has held workshops, conferences and published numerous reports including the state report cards on high school graduation rates for black boys across the country.
	Teach for America 519 8th Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10018 (212) 279-2666 jemina.bernard@teachforamerica.org Teach for America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in ensuring educational equity and excellence for all children. Its mission is to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting our nation's most promising future leaders in the effort. In the short run, corps members go above and beyond to ensure that more students growing up today in our nation's lowest-income communities have the educational opportunities they deserve. In the long run, it builds a force of leaders with the insight and credibility that comes from having taught in a low-income community. Currently, 3,500 corps members are teaching in over 1,000 schools in 22 regions across the country. Their alumni, now numbering more than 10,000, are already starting schools, becoming principals and district administrators, winning accolades as teachers, and working to expand educational opportunity while pursuing careers in law, public policy, medicine, and business.
	United Way of America United Way of America is a national network of nearly 1,300 local organizations that work to advance the common good creating opportunities for a better life for all. By helping children and youth achieve their potential through educational opportunities; through the promotion of financial stability and independence for families, and improving people’s health. United Way’s goal is to create long-lasting changes by addressing the underlying causes of these problems.
	2. Local
	Advocates for Children of New York Focus: AFC's Justice Education Advocacy Project, Out of School Youth Project For over thirty-five years, Advocates for Children of New York, Inc. (AFC) has worked in partnership with New York City’s most impoverished and vulnerable families to secure quality and equal public education services. AFC works on behalf of children from infancy to age 21 who are at greatest risk for school-based discrimination and/or academic failure.
	Brotherhood/Sister Sol The Brotherhood/Sister Sol offers a safe space full of resources and love for 200 Black and Latino youth to speak their minds, acquire knowledge and skills, explore their identity and beliefs, and receive support to make their dreams reality. Its programs and activities - mentoring, leadership development, international study, academic tutoring, internships, community service, job training, writing collective, youth organizing - provide these young people with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and overcome the negative pressures of poverty, racism, drugs, and violence.
	The Campaign for High School Equity The Campaign for High School Equity is a national effort, launched in 2007 in partnership with the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Mexican American Legal Defenses and Educational Fund, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, the National Council of LaRaza, the National Indian Education Association, the National Urban League and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center. The convener and coordinator of the Campaign is the Alliance for Excellent Education. The goal of the campaign is to “ensure that America’s secondary schools have the capacity and motivation to prepare every student for graduation, college, work and life.”
	Charles A. Dana Center (The University of Texas at Austin) The Dana Center provides Texas education leaders with new knowledge about teaching and learning. The Center also supports K–12 teachers and leaders working to implement high academic standards for all students. The vision of the Charles A. Dana Center is for Texas to lead the nation in the achievement of its students and the quality of its workforce. Their mission is to support education leaders and policymakers in strengthening Texas education.
	The City University of New York (CUNY) Black Male Initiative (BMI) CUNY BMI is a new initiative intended to increase, encourage and support the inclusion and educational success of under-represented groups in higher education, in particular black males. All programs and activities of the Black Male Initiative are open to all academically eligible students, faculty and staff, without regard to race, gender, national origin, or other characteristic.
	Good Shepherd Services 305 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10001 (212) 243-7070 Good Shepherd Services is a leading youth development, education and family service agency that serves over 20,000 program participants a year. Focusing on high-need communities in Brooklyn and the Bronx, it provides a broad array of individual, family and school-based services to prevent youth from becoming disconnected from family, school and society. Continuing work originally begun in 1857, Good Shepherd Services works in partnership with the community, building a continuum of neighborhood-based support services that now includes over seventy programs – all dedicated to meeting the needs of vulnerable children, teens, adults and families and helping them make a safe passage to self-sufficiency.
	Harlem Children's Zone 35 East 125th St., New York, NY 10035 (212) 360-3255 mlipp@harlemchildrenszone.org Founded in 1970, Harlem Children's Zone, Inc. is a pioneering, nonprofit, community-based organization that works to enhance the quality of life for children and families in targeted neighborhoods. Formerly known as Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families, HCZ Inc.'s centers serve more than 13,000 children and adults, including over 9,500 at-risk children. The emphasis of our work is not just on education, social service and recreation, but on rebuilding the very fabric of community life. The Children's Zone intentionally develops programs where other agencies are in short supply.
	Mayor's Volunteer Center The Mayor’s Volunteer Center of the City of New York, a program of the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, brings together individuals, corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations to connect people and facilitate meaningful volunteer opportunities that improve the quality of life in New York City. Its goal is to make every New Yorker a volunteer. Throughout the year, the Mayor’s Volunteer Center promotes and organizes thousands of volunteer opportunities in partnership with community organizations and non-profits in all five boroughs.
	New York City Administration for Children’s Services Office of Youth Development Offers youths in foster care a range of programs and services to prepare for adulthood by developing skills and relationships that will last a lifetime. The Office of Youth Development champions youth development and permanency within child welfare in order to strengthen the outcomes of all youths. The services are Education, Employment, Youth Leadership, Preparing Youth for Adulthood Skills and Services, and Housing Resources for Youth.
	NYC DOE Million Motivation Campaign In February of 2008, the NYC Department of Education (DOE) launched the “Million” Motivation Campaign. This pilot program has been implemented in seven middle schools, serving approximately 2,500 students. Participating students will receive a free cell phone, known as the “Million,” with opportunities to earn minutes and other rewards if the student achieves specific academic goals. At the same time, the phones will be used as a platform to communicate directly with students by teachers and administrators and to “re-brand” achievement through a messaging campaign and mentoring program. In accordance with the City’s cell phone policy, cell phones will not be permitted in schools.
	The New York Civil Liberties Union's School to Prison Pipeline The New York ACLU affiliate sponsors the School to Prison Pipeline initiative in partnership with other local educational and youth organizations and advocates, targeting New York City’s School-to-Prison Pipeline. It focuses on New York’s education and public safety policies that push students out of school and into the criminal justice system.
	United Way of New York City Community Achievement Project in the Schools (CAPS) Recognizing that at-risk students in New York City public schools benefit from additional support services, United Way of New York City and the New York City Department of Education created CAPS to provide attendance improvement and dropout prevention services by taking a grassroots approach to serving at-risk students. The program engages neighborhood organizations in working with schools, parents and students to help youth succeed in school.
	Youth Empowerment Mission * 54 MacDonough St., 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11216 (718) 857-2447 isisgrant@girlsblossom.org Youth Empowerment Mission Inc. (YEM) is dedicated to creating comprehensive long term solutions that give young people in high risk environments real alternatives to violence and delinquency, while addressing the conditions that influence this self destructive life style. They accomplish this by partnering with young people, families, law enforcement agencies, schools and youth serving agencies. They also provide core early intervention programs that include: educational support services and advocacy, counseling, leadership development, life skill development, job readiness skills, and community involvement.
	3. Philanthropic
	Goldman Sachs Foundation * 85 Broad St., New York, NY 10004 (212) 902-1256 The Goldman Sachs Foundation is a global philanthropic organization funded by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. The Foundation's mission is to promote excellence and innovation in education and to improve the academic performance and lifelong productivity of young people worldwide. It achieves this mission through a combination of strategic partnerships, grants, loans, private sector investments, and the deployment of professional talent from Goldman Sachs. Funded in 1999, the Foundation has awarded grants of $72 million since its inception, providing opportunities for young people in more than 20 countries. The Foundation supplements its financial support with social and intellectual capital from Goldman Sachs. By drawing upon the firm's leadership development expertise and commitment to education, the Foundation is able to maximize the impact of its investments.
	Open Society Institute Baltimore Initiative In 1998, the Open Society Institute, an international foundation founded by philanthropist George Soros, decided to open a field office in the United States. OSI-Baltimore was launched as a five-year initiative which was extended for three years because of the progress of its work. Over the course of an eight year period from 1998 – 2005, the foundation directed over $50 million toward targeted grants and technical assistance to achieve lasting change in Baltimore’s neighborhoods, schools, prisons, workplaces and government agencies.
	Phelps Stokes Fund The Phelps Stokes Fund is America's oldest continuously operating foundation serving the needs of African Americans, Native Americans, Africans and the rural and urban poor. The Fund's activity is founded on the conviction that true education depends on a fundamental respect for human dignity, the development of the full capacities inherent in each human being, and the cultivation of social harmony. The Phelps Stokes Fund has initiated, conducted, and sponsored hallmark educational surveys and research studies that were fundamental in shaping the improvement of education for African Americans, Native Americans, and Africans.
	Schott Foundation for Public Education The Black Boys Initiative’s goal is to create a movement to improve the educational experiences of black boys to ensure that they graduate from high school with the confidence to become successful members of society. Through this initiative, Schott has held workshops, conferences and published numerous reports including the state report cards on high school graduation rates for black boys across the country.
	The Twenty-First Century Foundation The Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF)’s mission is to facilitate strategic giving for black community change. Specifically, 21CF works with donors to invest in institutions and leaders that solve problems within black communities nationally. 21CF has played a leadership role, in partnership with the Ford Foundation to prepare the report: Why We Can’t Wait: Opportunities for Improving Life Outcomes for African-American Males. This seminal report details the research and best practices and offers strategic solutions based on the actions of the philanthropic community. 2025 Black Men and Boys Initiative (2025BMB) In 2005 the Twenty-First Century Foundation launched the Black Men and Boys Initiative, which sought to raise the visibility of the crisis facing Black men and boys nationally. To learn more about the 2025 Campaign for Black Men and Boys, click here.
	* Forum Participants

The following links will take you to the efforts of other organizations who share our concerns about the pipeline crisis and our efforts in creating winning strategies for young black men.