#LIBERATEWEALTH4BLACKLIVES
At Solidaire Network, we believe that Black-led social change is not just about justice for Black communities, but a broad and deep societal transformation for all. We have always been in deep solidarity with Black organizing, working to coordinate deeper and longer-term resource mobilization for the movement ecosystem. Since 2016, Solidaire members have moved $5 million to the Black liberation movement ecosystem and an additional $2 million to Black innovation and organizing since 2013.
Now more than ever, philanthropy has a critical opportunity to more boldly defend Black lives. The national dialogue on structural racism has changed and we have received requests from many donors and funders to move money to the Black-led movement ecosystem ever since the Movement for Black Lives made a call to action to move $50 million during this Freedom Summer 2020. Through the Black Liberation Pooled Fund (BLPF), Solidaire is pooling resources to allocate to the powerful ecosystem of Black-led social change organizations around that country. We are now in a position to make multi-year grant commitments through this pooled fund with the first $10 million moving within 2020-2022.
We aim to fund Black Resistance organizing while investing in the development of Black Futures. And, we aim to do so in a manner that allows social movements to hone strategies, exchange learnings, and deepen opportunities for transformative and lasting change. To hold the expansiveness of these strategies the BLPF will continue to use both a movement ecosystem regranting strategy, where resources are redistributed into other regranting vehicles that are rooted in and governed by Black community leaders as well as directly to movement groups. This approach is centered on the belief that directly impacted communities should control and manage the resources that impact their lives. Identifying and investing in the creation of a diverse set of Black-led ecosystem regranting efforts will support the development of the capacity of Black communities to directly manage and govern resources while creating the lasting movement infrastructure that has been identified as a need by movement leaders.
While Solidaire always encourages direct giving to grassroots groups throughout the United States, in many instances, our donor members and funders prefer to pool their resources through us for collective action and impact. Solidaire welcomes all donors and funders to use this pooled fund as a vehicle to support transformative Black leadership and grassroots organizing. Both (c)(3) and (c)(4) funding is welcome, with (c)(4) dollars having the most flexibility to deploy.
Let us show our deepest solidarity in this moment by going all in for Black liberation. To learn more about the fund and to join us, please contact Jennifer Hu Corriggio, Director of Philanthropic Practice & Innovation at [email protected].
