History

Public Interest Projects, Inc. (PIP) brings together and strengthens the work of philanthropic institutions, nonprofit groups and other public interest organizations sharing a vision of a society that ensures justice, dignity and opportunity for all people.

PIP is a section 501(c)(3) public charity that operates grantmaking, technical assistance and strategic-planning programs for institutional and individual donors interested in social justice and human rights issues. By developing sustainable partnerships among donors, grantees and allied groups, PIP seeks to foster a movement for positive social change resulting in equality, fairness and a stronger participatory democracy.

PIP achieves this by:

• Managing strategic and culturally sensitive collaborative funds and initiatives

• Linking and convening partners with similar goals on the local, regional and national levels to collaborate and share knowledge

• Providing expertise and resources-including highly experienced staff-to help build capacity in the field, and

• Nurturing organizations, projects and affinity groups through fiscal sponsorships and other services

Background

The Fulfilling the Dream Fund (the Dream Fund) is a grantmaking collaborative to defend, support and expand affirmative action and other efforts to promote full inclusion of people of color and women. The Dream Fund was established in 2004 with a $10 million pledge by the Ford Foundation. Funds raised by other donors are matched on a one-to-one basis.

As a collaborative fund, the Dream Fund offers grantmakers the opportunity to pool their resources and expand their geographic reach. Local dollars are leveraged with national funds while pushing programming closer to the ground.
By working through the Dream Fund collaborative, grantmakers are able to collectively:

• Raise the visibility of key affirmative action and inclusion-related issues and speak with a unified voice

• Increase collaborative learning and strengthen capacities in the field among funders (including new donors) and grantees

• Enable more flexible, timely and effective grantmaking and programming, both on the ground and across broader networks