California Launches a $100 Million Fund to Support Black-Led Organizations – Barron’s

Funders joined together to launch the California Black Freedom Fund, a new $100 million initiative to provide resources to Black-led power-building organizations in the state. Pictured here is Hollywood Boulevard painted with the words 'All Black Lives Matter' in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images

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Twenty-five philanthropic organizations and funders have jointly launched the California Black Freedom Fund, a new $100 million initiative to provide resources to Black-led power-building organizations in the state over the next five years.

With an initial investment of $32.4 million, the Fund will raise additional money through a mix of foundation, corporate, and individual donor support. Funders currently participating in the new initiative include the Akonadi Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation, The California Endowment, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and Emerson Collective, among others.

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation will provide fiscal and administrative management of the fund.

Building a better future for everyone starts with centering [on] those who have been

politically, socially, and economically marginalized, Priscilla Chan, co-founder and

co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, said in a news release Thursday. The fund will ensure that Black-led organizations and movements have the power, resources, and recognition to continue their missions and make racial equity a reality in California.

In its first round of grantmaking, more than $6 million was awarded to three established Black networks, including Black Census and Redistricting Hub, a network of over 30 organizations maximizing participation in the census; Black Equity Collective, a community public-and-private partnership in Southern California; and PICO California: Live Free/ Bring the HEAT, an organization targeting basic health, safety, and well-being for people and communities.

The California Black Freedom Fund plans to make three rounds of grantmaking in 2021, with the next round set for late February.

The funders joined forces to address a history of underinvestment in Black-led organizations. According to the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, only 1% of community foundation support was specifically designated for Black communities in recent years.

To make racial justice and equity real in California, philanthropy needs to elevate its

investments in Black organizations who are focused on advocacy, organizing and holding our institutions accountablesomething that we call power-building, Lateefah Simon, president of Akonadi Foundation, said in the release.

In addition to grantmaking, the California Black Freedom Fund will also provide capacity-building support through technical assistance in communications, narrative change, and policy; research and data; and convening and learning opportunities, to the Black-led recipient organizations.

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California Launches a $100 Million Fund to Support Black-Led Organizations - Barron's