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Self Enhancement Inc. announced today it will distribute $2.5 million in education grants each year across Multnomah County through a new initiative called the Education Co-Op, thanks to a cash infusion from the 1803 Fund.
The grants are aimed at supporting programming in four areas: reading and math proficiency, high school graduation, tech literacy, and career development. The co-op will partner with community groups who work with youth to “fill the learning gap that they face by providing extra learning time and attention.”
The 1803 Fund, a Phil Knight-backed investment in Portland’s Black community with a focus on North and Northeast Portland, distributed its largest grants yet to SEI and Albina Head Start on April 9, as reported by The Oregonian.
“SEI has been a touchstone for our community for over half a century. Their experience serving Black children is unmatched,” 1803 Fund CEO Rukaiyah Adams said in a statement. “We’re here to support that record of success and strengthen our community.”
Tony Hopson Sr. created SEI in 1981, first as a basketball camp and later as a nonprofit that centers on youth support and success. Today, the organization offers services to about 17,000 Portland kids, most of them Black, from academic achievement to extracurricular classes and building relationships.
In an interview with WW last summer, Hopson said he hoped to persuade the 1803 Fund to drill down on student achievement.
“How do we get beyond making a difference to making the difference?" he said then. “Given the small number of African Americans in this state, I believe we have the ability to touch every single African American family. My goal through the 1803 Fund, if I can convince them, would be to give us enough money to expand what Ronnie Herndon is doing at Albina Head Start, expand what we’re doing, work with some other organizations, and have the highest graduation rate for Black kids in the nation.”
The co-op’s launch comes as outcomes for Oregon’s Black, Brown and Indigenous students have remained well below those of white students. For example, while 49.3% of white students demonstrated proficiency in English on the latest statewide testing, 24.1% of Black students did. In math, those numbers were 36.9% and 14.5%, respectively.
The grants also come in the wake of federal orders for states to stop administering diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools. The fund makes no mention of any race-based criteria, and Oregon is pushing back against the federal order.
“There’s so much work to be done and SEI can’t do it alone,” SEI CEO Trent Aldridge said in a statement. “This is a chance for us to be a good steward, identify impactful work, and make sure essential programs and resources get the funds they need to be sustained and expand.”
SEI will host an informational session for interested applicants on May 1.