Marin education equity network gets $450K grant

Marin Promise Partnership is a network of more than 100 youth and family leaders, community organizations, funders and public agencies.

A Marin educational equity network has won a three-year, $450,000 grant to support children and youth from their preschool years, through K-12 education and college and career readiness.

The network, Marin Promise Partnership, is one of more than 80 organizations to receive a grant award from the Marin Community Foundation. The foundation shifted its grant approach this year to what it calls its “community power initiative” that allows agencies and groups more latitude and a longer time frame to run their own programs.

“We are honored to receive this grant from the Marin Community Foundation, which acknowledges the power of our collaborative approach,” said Ann Mathieson, chief executive of Marin Promise Partnership.

“This is the first time we have applied as a united coalition for funding,” Mathieson said. “It exemplifies our commitment to working together to create meaningful, systemic change for Marin children and families.”

Marin Promise Partnership is a network of more than 100 youth and family leaders, community organizations, funders and public agencies. The network, established in 2012, has 13 staff members based at offices on Lucas Valley Road in San Rafael.

“We see this grant as a validation of the hard work and dedication of the entire partnership,” Chandra Alexandre, chief executive of Community Action Marin and co-chair of the Marin Promise Partnership board leadership team.

“Through this unique network, we are leveraging diverse expertise and resources to ensure that every student in Marin has the opportunity to succeed in school,” Alexandre said. “This grant will help support pioneering new approaches and deepen impact in our county.”

With the $150,000 annual Marin Community Foundation general operating grant, staff from Marin Promise Partnership will launch two new programs for children ages 5 and younger that will expand the network’s reach in that age group by 5,000 students, according to Mariangela Morales, a spokesperson for Marin Promise Partnership.

Those new initiatives will build on programs in Marin City and West Marin, Morales said.

In addition, the grant will fund three new teams in Novato to support college readiness, academic achievement and improved relationships with caring adults for youths at six of eight Marin high schools, she said.

The money will also support development of a new countywide database on children and youths. In addition, the grant will fund coordination of a team of expert parent advocate coaches to work with Marin students.

“Communities benefit when there is a commitment by institutional and other leaders to create collective impact through coordinated effort,” said Jonathan Eldridge, College of Marin president and co-chair of the board leadership team for Marin Promise Partnership.

“Marin Promise Partnership is the vehicle by which this impact can most effectively occur within Marin’s educational sector — and beyond,” he said.

Omar Carrera, chief executive of Canal Alliance and another co-chair of the Marin Promise Partnership board leadership team, agreed.

“This grant is a testament to the power of collaboration,” Carrera said.

“Longstanding systemic and racial inequities require of us a collective and urgent response,” Carrera said. “The collaborative approach of Marin Promise Partnership empowers us to identify and address the unique needs of our students more effectively than ever before.”