All foundations follow guidelines to define the parameters of their giving practice, and the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation is no exception. According to the guidelines set down by our Board of Trustees, the EJK Foundation can support programs in public schools and public libraries anywhere in the United States and its protectorates. To qualify for funding from the EJK Foundation, the Board of Trustees requires that schools and libraries meet the following criteria:
- The curriculum, pay scale, budgets and rules for schools and/or libraries must be created, controlled and administered by the local public Department of Education and/or government.
- The quality assessment and viability of a school and/or library must be entirely in the purview of the Department of Education and local government.
- Teachers and librarians must be licensed as qualified for their jobs by the Department of Education and/or government and be considered civil servants.
- Teachers on staff are union members and have union representation (except in states where public employees are prohibited from collective bargaining).
- The operation of the school and/or library does not earn profits for shareholders of corporations designed to treat the creation, housing or management of the school and/or library as a money-making operation.
Once again, all foundations focus their giving practice according to the dictates of their Trustees. The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has supported programs in public schools and public libraries as defined above for over 30 years and will continue to do so.