OUR FUNDING PRIORITIES
WE ARE SOCIAL JUSTICE GRANTMAKERS
The Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation is guided by social justice principles and believes that inequities can be dismantled through strategic and systems-level interventions. We strive to understand and invest in on-the-ground solutions driven by experts – individuals and advocacy groups living and working in the communities they serve. The Foundation elevates organizations and ideas that address pre-existing and reinforcing conditions that lead to inequities. These groups lead with policy and narrative change, power building, and amplify the voices of marginalized groups.
RPDFF takes a place-based approach to grantmaking. We immerse ourselves in local issues and support interventions through multi-year general and project-level support, pilot projects, and capacity building initiatives that strengthen partners’ programming and operations. Our emphasis on trust-based grantmaking speaks to the strength of organizations and the leaders in whom we invest.
We recognize that systems change is accomplished through shifts in political representation and public policy, building grassroots power, and ensuring equitable access to resources and influence.
As a result, we invest in Civic Empowerment across all three of our program areas. This approach reflects an understanding of civic injustice as an outcome of historic power imbalances that were intentionally designed to deny specific groups of people the right to make decisions about their livelihoods and future opportunities.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING PRESERVATION
We believe that affordable, safe, and secure housing is the cornerstone of any neighborhood. During a time of excessive housing costs, we invest in advocates seeking to create and strengthen policies aimed at addressing displacement and affordability. This work includes supporting the development of tenant protection policies, innovations in affordable housing finance, and new tools that create or promote permanent affordability.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
As reform measures continue to garner momentum and as people are welcomed back into their communities, it is essential that individuals have all they need to succeed. The Foundation invests in community-led efforts to address re-entry and policy reform. We support efforts to reduce the number of people in jails and prisons, reverse high recidivism rates, identify new funding streams for community-led re-entry efforts, and to transform a broken system through empowering community leaders to engage in the civic process.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Environmental Justice is the recognition that all individuals have the right to live in clean and safe neighborhoods free from polluted air, soil, and water. RPDFF supports community-led efforts to address environmental inequities and improve community well-being. Investments are hyper-local and focus on advocacy, regulation, policy change, and capacity building. Our work is centered in communities that have historically been marginalized or disenfranchised where environmental harm is often felt first.
WHERE WE FUND
RPDFF uses a place-based approach to grantmaking, which allows us to develop authentic and meaningful relationships with partners to drive community-based solutions. Los Angeles is the Foundation’s primary footprint with an intentional focus on South and East Los Angeles. These geographic areas have been historically disinvested, and continue to experience high housing costs, environmental and health hazards, and rampant over-policing that contributes to criminal justice concerns.
New Orleans and Tacoma represent the Foundation’s secondary markets. In these geographies, RPDFF relies on collaborative partnerships operating at the local and regional level. We align our investments with community and local foundations, and occasionally invest directly into key organizations leading work aligned with program priorities. Across all geographies, we seek to share ideas and learnings to advance important issues, policies, and tactics to improve community outcomes. The Foundation also has a unique, time-limited initiative located in Nairobi, Kenya.
Who Do We Fund? The Foundation supports US-based 501c(3) organizations working in communities located within our target cities. At this time, grant applications are considered through an invite-only process.
LOS ANGELES
NEW ORLEANS
TACOMA
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