{"id":49,"date":"2013-03-12T16:54:50","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T16:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newwf.benfredaconsulting.com\/?page_id=49"},"modified":"2022-01-31T22:32:55","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T22:32:55","slug":"1974-1994-the-democracy-from-the-bottom-up-era","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/newwf.org\/ourfoundingstory\/1974-1994-the-democracy-from-the-bottom-up-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Democracy From the Bottom Up 1954-1990"},"content":{"rendered":"
The U.S. civil rights movement and subsequent quests for social equality that flowed from it, particularly in education, shaped the Foundation\u2019s work during the 1950s and 1960s. Our early grantmaking supported dozens of civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Urban League in addition to founding grants to the Children\u2019s Defense Fund. We also began a lasting commitment to funding in the South, one of the few foundations willing to support beleaguered Southern efforts, to help launch the Southern Regional Council and its Voter Education Project.<\/p>\n