Racial Equity
Supporting the South's small businesses is supporting an equitable recovery
April 17, 2021Beth Bafford, vice president of syndications and strategy at Calvert Impact Capital, and Jennifer Gadberry, vice president of asset management at the Heifer Foundation, explain why support for small buinesses is key to the post-pandemic recovery in the South....
Kresge awards $8.4 million for climate change, health equity efforts
Grants were awarded to fourteen community-based organizations through the foundation's Climate Change, Health & Equity initiative, which works to advance policies and practices aimed at improving community health while helping cities mitigate and adapt to climate change….
Bloomberg commits $6 million to HBCUs for mobile COVID-19 vaccinations
The grants will support efforts by Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse School of Medicine to expand mobile unit COVID-19 vaccine operations in Black and medically underserved communities....
$11 million fund launched to provide transportation to vaccine sites
Uber, PayPal, and Walgreens have committed $11 million to launch an initiative aimed at providing transportation to COVID-19 vaccination sites in underserved communities....
Rockefeller Foundation commits $20 million for vaccine equity
The Equity-First Vaccination Initiative will work with anchor organizations in Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Newark, and Oakland to deploy equity-focused, hyper-local vaccine interventions....
California Endowment doubles commitment to AAPI organizations
In response to a surge in violence against AAPI communities, the foundation will double its investments in AAPI-led power-building organizations to $100 million over the next ten years....
Crowdfunding donors younger, less religious, study finds
The report from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI found that donors who give to crowdfunding campaigns are slightly younger, less religious, and more likely to be single than those who give through more traditional channels....
Two-thirds of students want police removed from schools
A survey by the Center for Popular Democracy found that 41 percent of middle and high school students felt "unsafe" or "very unsafe" when they encountered police officers at school....
Upswing Fund awards $10.8 million to expand mental health services
The grants will enable organizations that provide mental health services to adolescents of color and LGBTQ+ youth to increase their capacity and deploy innovative solutions designed to improve access to care….
OSF pledges $20 million for grassroots advocacy efforts
The bulk of the funds will be awarded through Open Society Foundations' 501(c)(4) affiliate, the Open Society Policy Center, to progressive advocacy groups organizing in support of policies included in the Biden administration's American Jobs Plan and forthcoming American Families Plan....
Report urges wealthy families to prioritize impact investments
A report from the Bridgespan Group argues that high-net-worth individuals and families are uniquely positioned to pursue "impact-first" investments that prioritize social and environmental impact over financial returns....
Gilberts commit $30 million to Cranbrook Academy of Art
The largest gift in the school's 117-year history will establish and endow the Gilbert Fellows program, bolster the academy's existing scholarship fund, and fund visiting faculty artists, with a focus on artists of color....
NinetyToZero coalition launched to address racial wealth gap
To help transform an economic paradigm that has led to a 90-percent racial wealth gap between white and Black Americans, the NinetyToZero initiative will provide a roadmap for companies and organizations looking to recruit, hire, develop, and support Black talent and improve access to capital and investment in Black-owned and -led businesses....
Ford Foundation commits another $1 billion to address inequality
The foundation has announced a $1 billion extension of its Building Institutions and Networks (BUILD) initiative, which it launched in 2015 with the aim of helping social justice organizations around the world achieve their core goals and build resilience for the long term....
Raytheon commits $500 million for social impact initiative
The Connect Up initiative will leverage philanthropic capital, public/private partnerships, and employee volunteerism to advance equitable opportunities in STEM education, career development, and community well-being, with a focus on communities of color....
McKnight Foundation awards $17.9 million in Q1 grants
The grants include a total of $5.4 million in support of the inaugural cohort of the foundation's Vibrant & Equitable Communities program, which provides support to partners committed to achieving more equitable outcomes with and for Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities in the state....
Wayfair commits $30 million for social impact investing
Part of a $30 million impact investing commitment by the online retailer, the funds will support the efforts of LISC's Black Economic Development Fund to improve access to capital and expand economic opportunity in Black communities....
Asian-American business leaders pledge $10 million to fight hate
In an open letter, nearly a thousand Asian-American business leaders and their allies called for an end to anti-AAPI violence and pledged $10 million in support of organizations serving AAPI communities and working to advance racial justice....
Report calls for more equitable data to improve economic mobility
A report from the Markle Foundation identifies five areas where reducing barriers and increasing capacity could advance privacy-protected data sharing, help address economic disparities and inequality, and enhance knowledge about economic mobility....
