Black History Month – Focus on Philanthropy

February 20, 2019 § Leave a comment

In honor of Black History Month, I thought I would post here about some resources and articles I have found recently about Black philanthropy. I have noticed some increased visibility in the profession, and I will amplify it here.

Morehouse College, the historically Black men’s college in Atlanta, received one of the largest gifts in its history last month. Philanthropist and entrepreneur, Robert F. Smith.

At the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University-Perdue University Indiana, the Mays Family Institute of Diverse Philanthropy provides training for fundraising and philanthropy in “diverse” communities. While this is inclusive of everything from different ethnicities to the queer community, Black philanthropy features prominently in the curriculum. This month, the website features a couple of videos by one of its faculty members, Tyrone Freeman, about the traditions of Black philanthropy.

Apparently, it’s going on in Indiana! (Who knew?) The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is hosting a Conference on Diverse Philanthropy and Leadership in Indianapolis this April.

From the Chronicle of Philanthropy, an opinion piece by Michele Norris of NPR and Sean Gibbons the Communications Network, talks about how nonprofits and foundations unwittingly perpetuate racism, and offer some possible solutions of how to stop in the latest issue of Change Agent, the journal of the Communications Network.

In doing a little research on Black philanthropy for this post, I came across this resource that was new to me: Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE), “a philanthropic partnership for Black communities.” On their website there are articles, information about upcoming events, and resources.

While this is an old piece, it was the latest list I could find of top philanthropist of color from Inside Philanthropy in 2016. I suspect many on this list would still be there in 2019, but I am curious to know how the list may have changed.

Happy Black History Month!

InFomentation