The program areas (here) offer several places of interest to Design Centers if they have some legs. Look at Democratic Practice and Sustainable Development and their China program, to a lesser degree, the Culpeper Arts & Culture, but worth a look.
The Chinese government has been responding to complex carbon challenges. The RBF’s grantmaking seeks to assist these efforts. For example, look at Shenzhen GoalBlue Low Carbon Development Promoting Center, a project to influence consumer behavior to promote sustainable, low-carbon consumption.
The democracy program looks at innovative strategies for participating in governance, transparency, and accountability practices and institutions to achieve social, economic, and racial justice. Grassroots isn’t their style, so an outreach partnership with RBF-funded outfits like The Roosevelt Institute (100K) would be a good step. See RI’s video (here). Angle – what can a “think tank” do for Sunset Park?
Same on sustainable work – practical approaches model support for a range of actions to address the threat of climate change, such as clean energy at local levels (e.g., micro-grids, other innovations). In the arts, the strategy would be to find and support local artists focused on the diversity of Sunset Park.
No funding is anything that suggests funding individuals, only public sessions using the Pocantico Center, no youth funding, no capital expenses, lobbying, tickets, or tables.