Salesforce Catalyst Fund Expands Access to Education and Helps Advance Climate Justice

Today, Salesforce announced 15 grantees of its Catalyst Fund, which provides unrestricted capital to smaller and younger nonprofits focused on increasing access to quality education and advancing climate justice.

Why it matters: Disparities in education quality remain a significant challenge, limiting socioeconomic opportunities for many individuals. Climate change also impacts the most vulnerable communities. These grants are helping smaller, younger organizations grow their programs and reach new audiences, innovate for solutions and test big ideas, and secure additional funding.

• Research shows that organizations with leaders embedded in the communities they serve have the experience, relationships, data, and knowledge necessary to develop effective solutions. 
• Nonprofits with unrestricted funding also demonstrate greater resilience and capacity. This flexibility allows them to create and scale solutions by allocating resources to operational costs, technology, and outreach efforts.

Go deeper: Salesforce’s latest round of funding will allocate a total of $2 million to nonprofits to support 15 organizations across the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

• The fund has also extended its reach to include three organizations with a specific focus on climate justice to build the next generation of climate leaders and advance a just transition to a green economy.
• With these latest contributions, the Catalyst Fund will have awarded a cumulative total of $6 million to 50 nonprofit partners since 2021.

What they’re saying:

• “We’re proud to support these exceptional organizations, recognizing that getting access to philanthropic capital is often harder for younger and smaller nonprofits. We’ve seen the transformative impact of our education Catalyst Fund partners and we’re thrilled to broaden our reach to support climate justice organizations.” – Becky Ferguson, SVP of Philanthropy at Salesforce & CEO of the Salesforce Foundation
• “The transition to clean energy is inevitable, but creating an equitable distribution of benefits takes intention. With unrestricted funding, I have greater capacity to focus on the most impactful work with young clean energy leaders instead of worrying about how to cover the core operations that are always so difficult for nonprofits.” – Esther Morales, Catalyst Fund Grantee and Executive Director, CELI

We’ve seen the transformative impact of our education Catalyst Fund partners and we’re thrilled to broaden our reach to support climate justice organizations.

Becky Ferguson, SVP of Philanthropy at Salesforce & CEO of the Salesforce Foundation

New Catalyst Fund grantees: These 15 grantees are committed to driving access to education and economic opportunity and advancing climate justice in the communities they serve:

• America On Tech: Grew its tech sector partnerships, resulting in over $1.5 million in internship wages for students in the 2022-2023 school year. The organization also expanded to Miami and launched an alumni continuing education program.
• Coded By Kids: Empowers underserved youth through tech education to prepare them for success in the innovation economy.
• Clean Energy Leadership Institute: Equips young professionals with energy systems expertise and networks needed to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future.
• DeadlyScience: DeadlyScience is the leading Indigenous Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) charity providing programs and STEM resources to Indigenous learners across Australia.
• DREAMer’s Roadmap: Supports undocumented students finding scholarships to go to college.
• Eight Million Stories: Provides education and career readiness programs to young people who are justice-involved or have been disconnected from traditional schools.
• Football Beyond Borders (FBB): Expanded its service reach by 25%, resulting in an increase of reach of students farthest from success. FBB also expanded to the West Midlands region and upskilled existing staff enhancing therapeutic offerings for young people.
• Kingmakers of Oakland: Deepened relationships with the San Francisco United School District, served more than 1,000 students from Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, and Suburban Atlanta, and has increased program funders.
• Profound Gentlemen: Supports male educators of color through professional development, mentorship, and community building.
• The Calculus Project: Uses research-supported strategies to increase the number of underrepresented students who excel in advanced mathematics to prepare them for post-secondary opportunities in STEM.
• The Teachers’ Lounge: Offers professional development and support services to educators, with a focus on fostering collaboration and innovation in teaching.
• Sharing The Power Foundation: Works to build the next generation of diverse climate justice leaders through leadership development, advocacy, and community organizing.
• Visions of Science Network for Learning: Connects underserved youth to a pathway of STEM learning and engagement towards successful careers opportunities in STEM.
• Urban TXT: Urban TXT achieved near-perfect impact outcomes across key measures, doubled the reach of its hackathon program, expanded partnerships at the school district level, and continued placing low income youth in high paying jobs.
• Youth Negotiators Academy: Develops the next cohort of climate leaders through training, mentorship, and opportunities for civic engagement.

More information:

• Learn more about the Salesforce Catalyst Fund and previous grantees
• Dive deeper into Salesforce Philanthropy
• Find more details on Catalyst Fund grant recipients in Australia and New Zealand