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The summer of 2020 was poised to be a turning point regarding racial justice in the United States, including in the philanthropic realm. After the death of George Floyd and the civil unrest that followed, many foundations pledged significant support to the cause, providing funding to organizations working to advance racial justice and equity. promised.
When IP revisited these commitments two years after Floyd’s death, one initiative that stood out was the California Black Freedom Fund. This is a five-year, $100 million initiative to support Black power-building and movement-based organizations in the state. Despite the current attacks on its work to advance diversity and racial justice, the collective fund has announced that it will continue to exist.
The California Black Freedom Fund was originally founded by the Akonadi Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation, the California Endowment, the California Wellness Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Foundation, the Libra Foundation, and recent investments from the State of California. . Now known as the Black Freedom Fund, leaders established the fund as an independent foundation to ensure it continues to provide much-needed support to the state’s Black power-building ecosystem. announced that they are raising funds for.
“It’s impossible to dismantle systemic racism in five years,” said Mark Filpert, executive director of BFF. “These are issues we have been working on for 400 years. It is impossible for an organization to effectively turn the tide in five years. , we really need multigenerational organizations that can be effective catalysts in the racial justice movement.”
To address the long-standing funding disparity between organizations led by people of color and those led by white people, the foundation will focus its support on Black-led organizations and take a trust-based approach to grantmaking. We provide flexible and general operational support. Grant Recipients. In her latest 7th round of grants, she donated $3.5 million to 75 organizations in California.
Grants include the New Lifestyle Reentry Project, the Anti-Police and Terrorism Project, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, the Black Futures Lab, the California Black Health Network, and the Inland Empire. Includes Black Worker Center. These organizations represent regions across the state and work on a variety of issues, including immigrant rights, maternal health, economic development, and environmental justice. Since its founding in 2021, the foundation has donated more than $37.7 million to 178 organizations.
push back against repulsion
According to Philpert, the idea to develop the fund into an endowment foundation came from a series of conversations with other leaders and organizers.
“As we continue to work with community partners and funders in this area, we believe that people really need us to survive long-term and become an organization that serves Black Californians and Black Americans more broadly.” It was clear that they recognized that,” Philpert said. “Those conversations are just beginning. Once we’re established and ready to do the work to make sure people are aware of the opportunity to support organizations like this long-term, it’s going to be a pretty open conversation. We hope that acceptance will take place.”
Despite hopes that 2020 would be a turning point in funding for racial justice work, many funders and organizers have said they will not be able to provide such support, in part because of the Supreme Court’s anti-discrimination actions. have expressed concerns privately and increasingly publicly that the country is in retreat. Last year’s verdict. While there has been a general backlash in recent years to efforts to expand diversity and equity and combat systemic racism, the SCOTUS decision (which directly affected only college admissions) , opening the door to lawsuits over works that focus on race and gender.
“The reality is that many of our organizations are under attack. They are being driven by the concerns of philanthropic leaders who have never been committed to racial justice because of economic instability.” and a circus in some courts in the state and around the country, facing a funding cliff and arguing that focusing on serving black communities is racist. That’s where the right-wing litigants are,” Philpert said.
Two BFF grant recipients, one that supports pregnant women and one that supports transgender people, are suing San Francisco over a guaranteed income program jointly run by the city. Mr. Philpert said these lawsuits prey on some of the most vulnerable people to make political points in hopes of “clearing things up.”[ing] It’s the foundation of racial justice. ”
“It is very possible. There are so many beautiful things happening, but there is still a rise in hatred, fascism and anti-democratic values that we must eradicate, and we must continue to voice our opposition.” We have to raise it,” Philpert said.
BFF supports leaders legally and in other ways, including the Sustaining Black Power-Building Leadership Sabbatical Pilot Program and the Black California Report and Conference commissioned by the California Legislative Black Caucus. We have expanded our programmatic efforts. The Fund also works with other organizations, including the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCR) and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), to educate and defend the legal rights of black organizations. It will work in collaboration with legal experts and funders from around the world.
Although California-based BFF is regionally focused, national funders and leaders in other parts of the country have expressed interest in locating the fund in their communities. “Whether it’s New York, Michigan or Louisiana, people value black charities,” Philpert said. “We are in an era of Black Lives Matter.” [but] We have never seen an entity exist to meet those needs. ”
Mr Philpert added that there was an opportunity to be strategic and deliberate about how the foundation could become a national and local charity. He added that he doesn’t think that will happen anytime soon, but there is interest from other stakeholders who could help build the fund. The structure of the fund could someday play that role.
“There’s quite a bit of work to do, but we believe we’re on the side of justice and we’re confident we’ll prevail,” Philpert said. “We will counter this hate-mongering and negativity in a loving and inclusive way.”
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