Introduction
You are a member of the budgetary council of the San Dieguito High School Social Justice Foundation. You and your fellow members want to fund non-profit groups and their fight against inequity in California. There are many programs, councils and organizations that work on issues from prison reform to ecology, but how can your foundation sort through them and decide how and where to allocate your available funds? How can you best pursue your priorities when it comes to initiatives for social justice and equity?
Task
Your foundation has raised $450,000. How will you allocate it?
Task 1: You will decide on your priorities when it comes to confronting the many issues of inequity in California.
You will do some reading about the causes and consequences of inequity in California. Using the organizer provided, you will reflect on how these issues impact your community. In collaboration with your group, you will create a list of priorities.
Task 2: You will bring non-profits to the attention of your fellow members.
In pairs, you will perform research on a specific non-profit group operating in California and nationally. You will collect information about how they operate, who they impact, and what their budgetary needs are. You will prepare a short video presenting the work of your non-profit to be played at our foundation meeting.
Task 3: You will collaboratively decide on a budget.
After watching each video, the class will use the priorities list and the information they have gathered about each non-profit to decide how the foundation will prioritize its funds.
Process
Task 1:
In groups of 4 and using the attached organizer, brainstorm some of the ways that you have heard or experienced in which California has fallen short in its mission to uphold the rights of all of its citizens. Think in terms of education, environmental issues, racial discrimination, criminal justice and incarceration, poverty and income inequality, and any other facets you come up with.
Using the resources in the links, read about recent and ongoing issues in the table below:
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Income inequality |
Immigration |
Incarceration |
Native American rights |
Police reform |
Environmental justice |
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https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/article/did-pandemic-create-more-income-inequality-california |
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/31/california-immigration-mexico-coronavirus-us |
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/01/1095429608/california-police-biased-report-no-plans-address-problem |
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After reading about these issues, reflect in the organizer on how, if at all, you have seen these issues represented in your own community. Which elements do you think the San Dieguito High School Social Justice Foundation should focus its attention on first? What do you think our priorities should be?
Task 2:
In pairs, choose a non-profit organization that functions in California. You may choose from the list below, or you may find one through personal research. Please make sure that you can find an "Annual Report" or budgetary information on the webpage.
Possible choices:
California Environmental Justice Alliance
Alliance for a Better Community
As you explore the non-profit's webpage, take notes on the following:
- What sort of projects does your non-profit undertake?
- What specific problems are they trying to solve? What improvements or solutions do they see?
- What are the core values of the non-profit?
- What groups of people does it work with? How many people will the project(s) benefit?
- What kind of operating budget does it require?
- What other agencies/sources of support does it have to help see the project(s) through?
- Who are the people who run the organization? Do they seem suited to the project?
Using your research on the non-profit, create a short video encompassing the information above. Your goal is to convince other members of the foundation to allocate funds to this non-profit. Your video should be between 1 and 3 minutes long.
You can use the following to make videos online:
Task 3:
The class will watch each of the videos and record our reactions. Using your notes on the videos and your priorities list from Task 1, use the attached organizer to propose a budget allocation for the non-profits you have learned about from other videos. Make sure to justify your proposals. Attempt to come to a consensus and approve a final allocation of funds.
Evaluation
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Exemplary |
Accomplished |
Developing |
Beginning |
Total |
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Online Research |
Successfully uses suggested Internet links to find all required information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Mostly able to use suggested Internet links to find required information and navigates within these sites without assistance. Almost all required information included. |
Some limits on ability to use suggested Internet links to find information. Some important information missing. |
Needs assistance or supervision to use suggested Internet links and/or to navigate within these sites. |
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Video Presentation |
Video is interesting and accurately reflects the mission of the targeted non-profit. Information is organized in a logical and easy to follow manner. Persuasive techniques used appropriately. |
Video accurately reflects the work of the non-profit. Information is largely organized in a logical manner and is mostly easy to follow. Some persuasive techniques used. |
Video mostly reflects the work of the non-profit. Information may be somewhat clear or missing important context. Persuasive techniques used with some limitations. |
Video is off-topic or otherwise difficult to follow. Information is included in a confusing manner. No attempt at persuasive techniques evident. |
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Teamwork |
In pairs and in larger groups, collaboration evident. Groups and pairs work well together to divide tasks and stay on-task through the periods. |
In pairs and in larger groups, collaboration mostly evident. Groups and pairs work together to divide tasks and mostly stay on-task through the periods. |
In pairs and in larger groups, collaboration somewhat limited. Groups and pairs struggle to divide tasks and have occasional off-topic moment. |
No attempt made at collaborative work. Off-topic or otherwise disruptive. |
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Reflective work |
Organizers demonstrate thoughtful engagement with important ideas. Self-reflection and brainstorming demonstrate insight and curiosity. |
Organizers demonstrate serious engagement with important ideas. Self-reflection and brainstorming largely demonstrate insight and curiosity. |
Organizers demonstrate occasionally limited engagement. Self-reflection and brainstorming demonstrate some attempt at processing big ideas. |
Organizers incomplete or otherwise shallow in self-reflection and brainstorming. No attempt made to connect with big ideas. |
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Conclusion
What did you learn about how non-profits function from this project? Other than giving money, what other avenues of support can you imagine to pursue the goals you have identified in this WebQuest?