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Welcome to The 1954 Project
Luminary Award Pre-Application 

Thank you for your interest in the 1954 Project Luminary Award. Named for the year of the Brown v. Board decision, The 1954 Project exists to fund and fortify nonprofit leaders whose work is transforming educational opportunity in Black communities. Since its launch, The 1954 Project has provided over 26M in catalytic unrestricted funding to organizations across the country.

We are honored that you are considering joining this community of innovators, change-makers, and visionaries creating equitable systems that benefit everyone.


About The Pre-Application

This is the first step in the 2027 Luminary Award application process. This Pre-Application ensures that potential applicants align with our grantmaking priorities and meet our basic eligibility criteria before proceeding to the full application. 

Timeline 

  • Pre-Application Deadline: Monday, December 7, 2026 at 11:59 PM CT 
  • Response Timeline: You will receive a response regarding your invitation to submit a Round 1 application or notification of ineligibility by mid-December 2026.
  • Luminary Award Application: The 2027 application process for The 1954 Project Luminary Award spans from January to August 2027. It consists of three distinct rounds.
Grantmaking Alignment 

We seek visionary nonprofit leaders with a proven track record in driving education outcomes in Black communities, who demonstrate proximity, lived expertise, and a deep commitment to collective leadership, long-term transformation, and the future of education. Applicants must align with one of our three impact areas.  

  • Innovation in Teaching & Learning: Transform teaching and learning across schools, classrooms, and other learning environments through culturally affirming approaches that center Black students, challenge traditional structures, and ultimately strengthen education for all students.
  • Diversity in Education: Recruit, develop, and sustain Black educators and education leaders who transform where and how students learn.
  • Pathways to Economic Mobility: Build pathways to wealth, ownership, and economic power for Black students, families, and communities through education and training that support career access, advancement, and entrepreneurship. 


Eligibility Requirements

To be considered for the 2027 Luminary Award, you and your organization must meet all of the following criteria: 

Leadership Requirements 

  • Primary Executive: Leader must hold the primary executive leadership position (CEO, President, Executive Director) with decision-making authority over operations and resources. 
  • Leadership Continuity: Leader must commit to remaining in role for at least three years from the award date. 

Organizational Requirements 

  • Legal Status: Organization must be a legally incorporated nonprofit organization OR operate under fiscal sponsorship. 
  • Independence: Organization must be an independent entity with its own governing board of directors and separate legal status. Programs or departments of larger organizations (including universities) and regional offices of national organizations are not eligible unless they maintain true independence with their own governing board and legal incorporation. 
  • Founding Year: Organization must have been founded in 2022 or earlier. 
  • Budget Range: Annual organizational budget between $500,000 and $10 million. 
  • Gift History: Largest single gift received in last 10 years between $150,000 and $5 million. 

Important Information & Resources

Ready to begin? Click 'Next Page' to start your Pre-Application.

Your Contact Information
Enter information about you, the person completing this form. If you are not the organization's leader, do not enter the organization leader's information here.










Leadership Details

This means the leader is responsible for the organization, not solely a specific program, department, region, or area of its work.
Based on this answer, the organization does not meet the leadership eligibility requirement. You may continue and submit the application. The CAFE Group will review the information provided and confirm the organization’s eligibility. 


Based on this answer, this application may not meet the leadership continuity requirement. To be eligible, the leader must currently expect to remain in their role for the next three calendar years. You may continue and submit the application. The CAFE Group will review the information provided and confirm the organization’s eligibility. 

You may include professional, educational, community, and lived experience relevant to the leader's work. 2,000 character limit
Organization's Leader Information








This address must be unique to the leader and different from the person listed above.

Error: The Leader's email address must not match the Submitter's email address.


Based on this answer, the organization does not meet the leadership eligibility requirement. You may continue and submit the application. The CAFE Group will review the information provided and confirm the organization’s eligibility. 


Based on this answer, this application may not meet the leadership-continuity requirement. To be eligible, the leader must currently expect to remain in their role for the next three calendar years. You may continue and submit the application. The CAFE Group will review the information provided and confirm the organization’s eligibility. 

You may include professional, educational, community, and lived experience relevant to the leader's work. 2,000 character limit
Co-Leader Contact Information
You indicated that this organization has a co-leader model, such as a co-ED or co-CEO. Please provide their contact information.

2,000 character limit








This address must be unique to this person and different from the people listed above.

Error: The Co-Leader's email address must not match either the Submitter's email address or the Leader's email address.



Organization's Basic Information

This should match the organization's tax or fiscal sponsorship documents.

For example, "Acme" instead of "Acme Group LLC"


Based on this response, this organization may not meet the operating age requirement. You may continue and submit the application. The CAFE Group will review the information provided and confirm the organization’s eligibility.

Leave blank if you do not have a formal mission statement. 500 character limit.

This should not be your mission or vision - focus your response on what staff and participants do. 2,000 character limit.

For example, "middle school boys interested in STEM," "school leaders of color in the DMV area," or "state-level education policy in the Southeast." 255 character limit.
Organization's Address

Include suite/apt if applicable





Include suite/apt if applicable



Organization Status
Independent organization requirement: To qualify for the Luminary Award, an organization must have its own legal status and governing board. 

Fiscally-sponsored organizations must be sponsored by organizations with 501(c)(3) status. In addition, the sponsored organization must have a legal status and governing board separate from its sponsor. 

Programs or departments of larger organizations - including most Model A fiscal sponsorships, departments of universities, and regional offices of national organizations - are not eligible unless they meet the requirements above.

Based on this response, this organization may not meet the independent organization requirement. You may continue and submit the application. The CAFE Group will review the information provided and confirm the organization’s eligibility.


Based on this response, this organization may not meet the legal status requirement. You may continue and submit the application. The CAFE Group will review the information provided and confirm the organization’s eligibility.





255 character limit

Financial Information
Fiscally sponsored organizations: Report only your organization's financial information, not your fiscal sponsor's.

$
Enter the total expenses reported in the organization’s financial records for the fiscal year ending in 2025.

$
Enter the total revenue reported in the organization’s financial records for the fiscal year ending in 2025.
To be eligible, the organization must have reported at least $500,000 in revenue and expenses for the fiscal year ending in 2025. Based on your answer, the organization may not meet this eligibility requirement. You may continue and submit the application. The CAFE Group will review the information provided and confirm the organization’s eligibility. 
To be eligible, the organization must have reported less than $10,000,000 in revenue and expenses for the fiscal year ending in 2025. Based on your answer, the organization may not meet this eligibility requirement. You may continue and submit the application. The CAFE Group will review the information provided and confirm the organization’s eligibility. 

$
Report one contribution from one source. This should not be the total of several contributions. Do not include in-kind contributions or donated services. Acceptable gift types are grants or donations from foundations, government agencies, companies, or individuals..
You have indicated that your largest gift is either below $150k or over $5M. Your largest contribution being between $150,000 and $5 million is an eligibility requirement for the Luminary Award. Based on your answer, the organization may not meet this eligibility requirement. You may continue and submit the application. The CAFE Group will review the information provided and confirm the organization’s eligibility. 
Grantmaking Alignment
Innovation in Teaching and Learning: Transform teaching and learning across schools, classrooms, and other learning environments through culturally affirming approaches that center Black students, challenge traditional structures, and ultimately strengthen education for all students.

Diversity in Education: Recruit, develop, and sustain Black educators and education leaders who transform where and how students learn.

Pathways to Economic Mobility: Build pathways to wealth, ownership, and economic power for Black students, families, and communities through education and training that support career access, advancement, and entrepreneurship.


Briefly describe the alignment using examples from your programs, approach, and results. 2,000 character limit
Previous Luminary Award Applications



For example, you may describe substantial changes to leadership, strategy, programs, geographical impact, or organizational structure. If there have been no significant changes, write "No major changes." 2,000 character limit.
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Acknowledgements and Privacy
We understand the sensitive nature of your responses and are committed to handling your data with the utmost care and security.

Our [Privacy Policy] outlines how we collect, store, and protect your information. You can review it at any time by clicking the link or navigating to the Policies page on our website. If you have any questions or concerns about how your data is used, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly. We are here to provide clarity and assurance.

The CAFE Group will use the submitter and leader email addresses provided in this form to communicate important information and updates throughout the application and 2027 Luminary Award selection process. Email addresses are also used to create user accounts to provide grant portal access.