Five key takeaways from Black Philanthropy Month 2022
Last month, we gathered with Black philanthropists and nonprofit leaders, community members, and allies to amplify and celebrate Black Philanthropy Month.
Building on the intention of Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland and the Pan-African Women's Philanthropy Network, who started the month-long celebration in 2011, joined in honoring the rich legacy of Black giving that has sustained us, our communities, and our ancestors for centuries.
Each action done, conversation held, and shared space hosted in Washington and across the globe in celebration of Black Philanthropy Month helped illuminate the transformative impact of Black generosity, telling the truth about our brilliance, vision, and enduring commitment to community care.
Our collective naming of what's fiercely and urgently needed furthered the call for funding equity and increased investment in Black self-determination, prosperity, and well-being. Here are five key takeaways from Black Philanthropy Month 2022:
1. We have always been philanthropic. Our rich history of investing our time, talent, and treasure to care for our communities is deeply rooted in ancestry and family and held in the different spaces we gather in. Black philanthropic champions like Ernestine Anderson, Dr. William C. Bell, Rev. Dr. LaVerne C. Hall, and Dr. Maxine Mimms are testimonies to the truthful mutual aid our people have always valued, centered, contributed to, and amplified.
2. Black community organizers and groups are vessels of integrity and conduits of care. We must trust and connect them to the support they need. Many Black-led groups are doing meaningful work across the state, and have cemented themselves as protectors and investors in community. Connecting them to the resources they need to expand their reach and impact is an integral part of the work to usher in increased investment in our neighborhoods.
“The downside of the huge gap in information and connection is that you have brilliant people who are creating change in their community who aren’t able to get the supports they need,'' shares Shaun Glaze, chief consulting officer at Inclusive Data. “But the flip side is, once they learn and have support, we can create change quickly. We really can meet the fierce urgency of now.”
3. Black-led philanthropy that centers community nourishes it. From the work and devotion of local Black philanthropic leaders and groups comes the carving and forging of new pathways for investing in our wealth, health, and well-being. The vision we are collectively working toward is a community-informed one shaped by Black Washingtonians. With community voice historically serving as both a directive and lever for sustainable solutions, it remains vital to any endeavor seeking to nourish us.
“That learning and engagement is super important,” shares Shona Carter, Black Future Co-op Fund’s director of partner engagement & outreach. “Philanthropy and foundations are always so mysterious to nonprofits and the folks who are on the ground. Being more transparent and bringing folks into the foundations’ processes is needed. For instance, having committees so you’re not just internally sitting around the table making decisions about the approach to community without bringing community in to inform strategy. And then, also, compensation for their knowledge. That starts to build that trust that ‘Okay, I’ve been a part of the process and know they are working alongside us as partners in the community to solve some of these challenges.’”
4. Donor and funders — your job is to find out the questions; not disseminate your answers to them. Investing in Black-led solutions means trusting Black leaders. “So many funders and donors would come in and sort of already know what the solution was to the problem. And then want to grant it that way,” shares Maria Kolby-Wolfe, president and CEO of the Washington Women’s Foundation. In not having proximity to the challenges themselves, social investors and philanthropic givers have to trust those who live closer to the issues and know what’s needed to disrupt the harm.
The solution to the ego and arrogance problem starts with wonder, shares Kolby Wolfe. “Start your conversation about the changes you’d like to see made in the world from a place of curiosity. Approach it with grace and interest. Let go of being in control of those dollars. Your job is to find out the questions.”
5. Moving toward shared abundance requires intentional, significant investment in Black communities to repair generational damage and accountability. To collectively address our communities' challenges, an approach that centers accountability, along with our brilliance, vision, ancestral wisdom, and needs is fiercely needed. The accountability is especially important in the context of reparations for systemic harm historically waged on our communities.
“Be candid in your narrative,” shares Nekya Johnson, director of community impact & grantmaking at the Community Foundation of Snohomish County. “The reality is white folks lose out when they don’t fund us. There are metrics that a lot of funders have to be accountable for, in terms of, did they make a strong enough effort and where is the dollar. Everyone who donates is required to openly share their 990s. That 990 tells you where they donated and how much they donated. In your grant application, call them out about the accountability to say ‘I’m applying for funds because I noticed your 990 does not reflect the people who live here.’ Remind them about the accountability. Don’t let folks get comfortable just because they haven’t funded us. Make them uncomfortable.”
Though Black Philanthropy Month may be over this year, we still keep close and carry the global legacy of Black generosity and strive to embody the love for community that it stems from 365 days of the year. We’re committed to defying the workings of a historically exclusive sector, continuing to challenge the narrative of those who give and those who receive.
