WHO WE ARE
OUR VISION
As a premier hands and head resource portal, The Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity envisions empowered communities of color with equitable access to tangible, pragmatic resources (hands) as well as innovative knowledge and information (head) that propels their thriving success.
OUR MISSION
The Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity enacts transformational change by investing resources into organizations and initiatives that empower and uplift communities of color.
What we stand for
OUR FOUR PILLARS
The Fund is committed to taking actions that encourage equitable systems change, while operating with transparency and fidelity. Accordingly, the Fund is committed to implementing a framework for reporting and evaluation that reflects the shared goal of the Fund and its supporters—meaningful and lasting change for marginalized communities of color. A key aspect to being transformative is to embrace a rigorous process to select and fund organizations aligned to four core focus areas: Social and Racial Justice, Youth Empowerment and Education, Community Building and Economic Development.
Education, literacy, innovation, mentorship, advancement, scholarship and career opportunities
Secure access to vital resources revitalize community spaces, celebrate Black history and culture
- In the 3-county area of Montgomery, Harris, and Fort Bend county, Black residents are imprisoned at 5x the rate of White residents.
- Broken down by race, Harris County has the highest rate of juvenile referrals for Black youth
- “Across all three counties, Black youth are referred at more than two-to-three times the rate of White youth.”
- In 2018, the share of Black defendants rose sharply to 80%, while the percentage of White defendants dropped to just 18.7%. This trend is consistent with females, as the rate of White women charged with organized crime offenses has dropped by 15% from 2010 to 2018, while the rate of Black women charged has risen by 20% in that same time period.
- Since 1990, incarceration rates are persistently highest amongst the Black population across all three counties, with the exception that the rate for the Hispanic population exceeds that of Blacks in Fort Bend County between 1997 and 2002.
- The Black population in Texas and Harris County are more likely to report five or more days of poor mental health, compared with White and Hispanic populations.
- Although the Houston region creates more jobs than most other large metropolitan areas in the country in the past year, it produces fewer college graduates, a trend that disproportionately impacts the social mobility of Black and Hispanic residents and ultimately, our workforce and economic vitality.
- About 37% of Black residents age 25 and older obtained some post-secondary credentials, and only 26% had attained a bachelor’s degree as of 2017.
- 36.7% of Black residents haven’t pursued education past high school Compared to 23.8% of White residents as of 2017.
- 40–41% of Black and Hispanic third-graders meet grade-level reading requirements. Compared to roughly 59–72% of White and Asian third-graders, consistent with disparities throughout the region.
- Despite having the second-highest levels of testing participation, only 9% of Black students scored at or above the testing criterion on the SAT or ACT.
- Rigorous studies found that the longer a child lived in a better environment during childhood, the higher their chance to have better long-term outcomes. In summary this equates with an awareness that neighborhoods that have a low poverty rate, more stable family structures, greater social capital, and better school quality, children from those families can obtain income gains in adulthood.
- 55% of the homeless population is Black
- Across the Houston three-county area, 72% of White and Asian householders, 52% of Hispanic householders, and 41% of Black householders are homeowners. Just 36% of homeowners were Black in Harris County
- Homeownership is the most common vehicle for wealth-building, yet disparities exist along racial and ethnic lines in homeownership. Further, people of color tend to receive a lower return-on-investment in college and in incomes compared to the White population, meaning Black and Hispanic families are less able to turn each dollar of income or amount of education into wealth as White families
- In 2017, an average White household in the three-county area made nearly twice as much as an average Black household per year.
- 819,024 households struggle financially (40%) across the three – county areas. According to official federal poverty guidelines. 853,156 people or 14.4% of the total three-county population are impoverished, 1 percentage point higher than the national figure.
- In 2017, less than 10% of the White population was in poverty across the nation, compared to 25% of the Black population
- In 2017, median earnings were highest for White workers in Fort Bend County ($60,302), followed by Harris County ($51,788), and Montgomery County ($46,409). Median earnings were lowest for Black workers in Harris County ($31,064), compared to those in Montgomery and Fort Bend counties ($37,313 and $37,584 respectively).
- Across the nation, only Black workers experienced declining median earnings, down by $411 since 2010.
- The median income gap between White and Black households was $38,605 in 2017 across the 3-county area
- Only 6% of woman-owned entrepreneur firms in the Houston have a Black owner.
- 38% of Houston area small businesses are minority-owned, six percentage points more than the state average.
What We Do
Meet Our Team
Our Blog
Impact Library
Our Impact Report
COVERAGE OF OUR IMPACT
Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity (HEF) is honored to serve our local Houston communities. The reach of HEF initiatives has impacted small businesses (), consultants (), nonprofits (20), and a university (1) during the time span between February 1 – July 31, 2022. That impact of HEF continues to grow as the organization strives to fulfill its vision and mission.
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