Blue Meridian Partners Makes $8 Million Commitment
The San Antonio Area Foundation welcomes a tremendous opportunity to lift up our youth by increasing and enhancing educational and economic opportunities through new national funding.
National philanthropic organization Blue Meridian Partners awarded the Area Foundation as well as UP Partnership an $8 million commitment to ensure continued economic mobility and equity for the San Antonio community.
Approximately $2.1 million will go to the Area Foundation while the rest of the funding is slated for UP.
“This partnership further solidifies the Area Foundation’s commitment to eliminating racial, ethnic and geographic inequities in our community and to building up leaders and organizations that will drive the work forward,” said Marjie French, CEO of the Area Foundation.
From our perspective, it is both humbling and highly encouraging to see national investors seeing the need for upward mobility for youth of color in San Antonio and demonstrating their leadership through this generous commitment.
Blue Meridian’s support clearly illustrates that centering equity in our work is not only the right thing to do but it also drives new investment in our community – it simply makes economic sense.
“We are excited to be investing in San Antonio and working with these talented leaders,” Othello Meadows, Managing Director for Portfolio and Strategies at Blue Meridian Partners, told San Antonio Report. “In particular, UP Partnership’s track record of using data and its strong relationships with the public sector are positioning the organization to be an excellent advocate for lasting change in San Antonio.”
While details of a definitive plan in terms of grant implementation are still being worked out, we’ll be looking for opportunities to put this significant infusion to good use through support for youth development agencies as well as for those providing workforce, childcare and leadership development opportunities focused on centering youth voice.
We are so proud of the work of UP Partnership – they’re setting a national example. Their initiative in obtaining funding from Blue Meridian Partners shows that much work remains to be done here in San Antonio to help our youth population.
“UP Partnership exists to ensure every young person in Bexar County is successful after high school. We want all Bexar County residents to earn a living wage regardless of where they were born, their citizenship status, race or ethnicity – we want all to move UP,” Ryan Lugalia-Hollon, the agency’s executive director, told San Antonio Report.
The community need is evident and we’re thankful to be able to take action toward filling that need, buoyed by this new significant show of support from Blue Meridian Partners. We look forward to working with UP Partnership, the City of San Antonio and other community partners toward this effort.
“I’m thrilled that San Antonio is already receiving national recognition and support for our equitable recovery efforts,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg told San Antonio Report. “UP Partnership and the Area Foundation will be able to augment their wraparound services, ensuring that every San Antonio family has an opportunity to thrive in the city we call home.”
