About the Black Future Co-op Fund
“We wanted to do philanthropy Blackly”
The Black Future Co-op Fund is by and for Black Washingtonians.
We are a cooperative model of philanthropy rooted in the beauty, soulfulness, and strength of Blackness. By investing in generational prosperity, connecting Black communities for collective power, promoting truthful Black narratives and shifting the philanthropic paradigm, we advance community-led solutions that support the creation of a radically free future.
Our Mission
We ignite generational wealth, health, and well-being for Black Washingtonians through Black community-led philanthropy.
Our Vision
We envision a Washington state, working cooperatively, where all Black people are liberated, prosperous, and self-determined to fully live our lives.
Our Story
Launching the Fund
Amidst the racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd, four Black women: Andrea Caupain-Sanderson, Michelle Merriweather, Angela Jones J.D., and T’wina Nobles launched the Fund to support Black-led organizations, leaders and activists.
$1 million for each year of institutionalized slavery
The goal of the Fund is to raise and reallocate $246 million: $1 million for every year of institutionalized slavery. In our first five years we have raised over $30million.
We See You grantmaking
We didn’t wait until we had reached our fundraising goal to begin distributing funds. Starting in 2021 we launched our We See You grantmaking program. Each We See You grantee is awarded $100,000 to support their work in the community. To date, we have supported nearly 200 Black-led organizations across Washington state.
Building a radically free Black future
Over the course of five years we have continued to resource Black leaders and organizations through event sponsorships, technical assistance and more. We remain committed to being good ancestors and stewards of the future.
Meet The Architects
For more than 25 years, Andrea has worked to advance racial equity and economic mobility for people across Washington state. As an immigrant to this country at the age of 12 and a single mother at 19, Andrea knows how it feels to be marginalized and struggling to make ends meet. Throughout her career, Andrea has translated her lived experience, coupled with her determination, to forge solutions to systemic barriers to opportunity.
Andrea is co-founder and co-executive director of the BIPOC Executive Directors Coalition, a multi-cultural, statewide collaborative of nonprofit leaders of color who are uniting through healing and advocacy to generate shared abundance in communities. Most recently, she served as CEO of Byrd Barr Place, a Black-led organization that empowers people to live healthy, prosperous lives through essential services and advocacy. During her 20-year tenure at Byrd Barr Place, Andrea was instrumental in turning the organization around from nearly closing its doors to thriving. She persisted 10 years to secure ownership of the organization’s home and led a $12.8M renovation (moving through debt-free) to preserve a cultural home for Black people. She also launched groundbreaking research to lift up Black communities’ approaches and needs to advocate for policy and systems change.
In addition, Andrea chairs the Equitable Recovery and Reconciliation Alliance and serves on the boards of Craft3, Crescent Collaborative, and Lorna Jordan Foundation. She is also a steering committee member of the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance. Andrea earned a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts from Evergreen State College.
She lives in Skyway with her husband and two children, whom she appreciates learning from every day. Andrea is also an avid runner, who has completed Seattle’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon nine times.
Angela strongly believes equitable access to education is essential to community sustainability and generational growth. As director of the Washington State Initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Angela leads the foundation’s strategy to create positive and sustainable impact for students, families, and communities throughout the state. Her passion, service, and leadership in Washington’s public education systems span more than 25 years. Previously, Angela served as CEO of Washington STEM, and held various leadership roles at Eastern Washington University and Washington State University. She also was the director of Employment and Conciliation Services for Spokane Public Schools and taught in the Wapato School District.
Angela grew up all over the world as a Navy dependent, before moving to Washington and graduating from Mountlake Terrace High School in the Edmonds School District. She spent 30 years living, working, and raising her family in eastern Washington before moving back to Snohomish County. Angela says her parents have been her first and foremost mentors. Their encouragement, coupled with her faith, motivate her to work hard every day.
She is a long-time member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. She currently serves on the boards of Washington MESA and Teachers of Color Foundation, as well as on the Washington State University-Pullman Student Affairs advisory committee. She earned a Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law, a Master of Science in Communications from Eastern Washington University, a Bachelor of Arts in English/Language Arts, and an initial teaching certificate from Washington State University. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, cycling, gardening, and being a doting Glam-ma.
Michelle strives to be “an effective voice for the voiceless,” advocating for African Americans and other communities who have been systematically excluded from economic and educational opportunities. She is the president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, where she leads advocacy, programming, and coalition building to improve housing, education, health, and workforce development for Seattle’s Black communities. Previously, Michelle worked with the Los Angeles Urban League, following a successful career in sales and marketing with Starbucks, Heinz, and Coca Cola.
Prior to joining the organization as an employee, Michelle volunteered with the Urban League nationally for over 10 years, sharing her experience in marketing, fund development, and organizing to expand the connection the organization has with young professionals.
Michelle grew up in Southern California and was always taught to be of service to others. Michelle often tributes her greatest inspiration, not only to her parents, but paternal grandmother who worked in service of others to ensure that every one of her seven children and all of her grandchildren graduated from college. Coming from the segregated South, she was determined and had an unwavering commitment to education. Many of her children became educators and all of her grandchildren are working hard to follow in her legacy to leave the world a better place.
Michelle’s commitment to honoring Black lives and uplifting people who have been disenfranchised extends to her service in the community. Michelle serves on the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance Steering Committee, and on the boards of the Alliance for Education, Washington State Women’s Commission, and Progress Pushers, a grassroots nonprofit disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline for young people. She is also an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and is the advisor for the University of Washington chapter. Michelle is a proud graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.