More Than a Grant: The Luminary Award

The 1954 Project started with a dream at a dinner table.

In 2019, Liz and Don Thompson invited more than 100 friends to gather for a conversation about a question that still guides this work: what would it take to invest more seriously in the future of education in Black communities?

Answers surfaced that evening helped give shape to The CAFE Group’s flagship initiative, The 1954 Project.

Named for the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, The 1954 Project exists to fulfill a promise not yet realized. In the years following desegregation, nearly 40,000 Black teachers lost their jobs as Black schools closed and historically segregated schools refused to retain or hire Black educators. That loss weakened leadership pipelines in Black communities and deprived students of all backgrounds the academic, cultural, and relational benefits Black teachers bring to classrooms and schools.

The 1954 Project carries that history forward with intention. Through the Luminary Award, The CAFE Group invests in leaders and organizations building stronger futures today.

Each 1954 Project Luminary receives a $1 million unrestricted grant. The award is designed to do more than move money. It marks the beginning of a longer-term relationship with The CAFE Group and a broader community of Luminaries rooted in trust, shared responsibility, and sustained support.

Because lasting transformation happens in authentic relationship.

Grants can often feel transactional: funding is awarded, progress monitored, and relationships are shaped by the grant term. But social change that is durable unfolds over time. It grows through trust, proximity, ongoing engagement, and investment in the people and organizations carrying the work forward.

That belief shapes the Luminary Award selection from the very beginning.

Over several months, The CAFE Group gets to know each candidate and organization with care. The process includes written application materials, financial reviews, conversations with leaders who know their work best, and a final interview with experts in their fields. Each stage helps build a more complete picture of what a long-term partnership could make possible.

That matters because The CAFE Group is asking leaders to say yes to something far beyond funding.

Luminaries embark on a three-year cohort experience designed to strengthen leadership and organizational capacity. The journey includes year-round programming, including monthly needs-aligned virtual coaching sessions, quarterly professional development, annual in-person gatherings, and continued opportunities to engage with The 1954 Project Network beyond the formal grant term.

But some of the most meaningful moments happen between the formal program offerings.

They happen in conversations before breakfast at Network Summit. In the reflective conversations on the walk back to the hotel after a session ends at Luminary Retreat. Or in the side chats during the virtual Network Town Hall, where leaders recognize shared challenges and trade hard-won wisdom with their peers.

What begins as a cohort becomes a community that pours into each other.

The leaders in The 1954 Project Network work across generations and communities and approaches. Some, like Village of Wisdom, work alongside parents as they advocate for their children and communities. Others, like Braven, partner with high school students as they prepare for life beyond graduation. Organizations like Generation Citizen shape national conversations around civic education and democratic engagement. Black Men Teach is increasing the presence of Black male teachers in classrooms. The Calculus Project is reimagining what students are expected to achieve in math. The Knowledge House is creating pathways to economic mobility.

Their strategies are different. And their contexts are distinct. But across the Network, Luminaries share a commitment to creating conditions that allow future generations to thrive that extend beyond any single program, classroom, or interaction.

That is why we care to invest deeply in people, relationships, and institutions. Financial investment matters, but relational investment helps capital grow roots.

As The 1954 Project’s reach expands, the hope is to continue recognizing leaders who bring radical imagination to work. And we hope to deepen connection across the field, strengthen the organizations already doing transformative work, and honor the care, vision, and leadership already shaping brighter futures across the country.

Stay Updated

Be among the first to know when The Luminary Award application opens this fall by joining The 1954 Project interest list and following The CAFE Group for updates.

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