by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors <\/a><\/p>\nDecember 22, 2025<\/p>\n
By Janee Bolden<\/p>\n
LaToya Williams-Belfort has spent her career building pathways for underserved communities, but stepping into her new leadership role as executive director of the Bronx Community Foundation has even deeper meaning for her as a Bronx native.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like a homecoming,\u201d Williams-Belfort told BLACK ENTERPRISE. \u201cThroughout my career, I\u2019ve been really intentional and really blessed to do work for communities that I authentically understood, and then to bring people to the table to drive investment and solutions for those communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams-Belfort was raised in the Bronx, and long before she had the language for systems and structures, she understood what it meant to live inside them. \u201cGrowing up in the Bronx, I quickly was able to start to understand systemic barriers,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was very clear to me that my community, my family, were hardworking, God-fearing, family-oriented folks, but you would hear terms like, \u2018we just can\u2019t get a break\u2019 or \u2018we just don\u2019t have access to certain opportunities.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Those early observations stayed with her as she moved through school, into the workforce, and eventually into philanthropy. Over time, they crystallized into a framework that would guide her leadership. \u201cUltimately landing on this word that\u2019s been so important to my life \u2014 equity,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat does it mean having equitable opportunity? So many people think equity means equality. We know that those are two totally different things.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time the country reached an inflection point following George Floyd\u2019s death in 2020, Williams-Belfort had already spent years working inside philanthropy. What shifted then was her sense of urgency around solutions. \u201cThe country was talking about racism in a way that had never happened in my life,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we were all talking about the problems and how we got here. The solutions conversation was where I really wanted to lean in.\u201d<\/p>\n
That desire to move from diagnosis to action led her to the nonprofit organization 15% Pledge, where she became the inaugural executive director. The goal was clear: use the machinery of capitalism to close opportunity gaps. \u201cWhen we think about equitable opportunity, when we think about building wealth, when we think about the racial wealth gap in this umbrella of capitalism, what the pledge was doing as a release to creating scalable pathways for Black entrepreneurs felt like a tangible solution,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we could help entrepreneurs to gain equitable access to the supply chains of billion-dollar corporations in a sustainable way and really build wealth, now we\u2019re talking about a more inclusive economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under her leadership, the organization scaled rapidly. \u201cI was there for almost five years,\u201d she said. \u201cWe took the organization to a $7 million operating nonprofit, and we were able to scale $14 billion in impact for a community of over 10,000 Black businesses.\u201d When the pledge launched, she noted that the community numbered closer to 1,000.<\/p>\n
Still, as proud as she is of that work, Williams-Belfort saw its limits. Sustainable change required not just programs, but a capital strategy. That realization shaped her decision to step into her current role at the Bronx Community Foundation, which operates as a funding organization rather than a direct-service nonprofit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t run direct programs,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is a funding organization.\u201d For Williams-Belfort, that distinction creates opportunity. \u201cHow are you supporting communities and nonprofits that are on the ground doing the work, but also thinking about sustainability, capacity building, and the technology needs to do the work in the right ways for the long term?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Foundation, she noted, is approaching its second decade. \u201cThe foundation is just about 10 years old,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been doing this in the right ways for a long time. But what is the next iteration of sustainability, growth, and innovation?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her answer is rooted in both data and lived experience. One of the greatest challenges she sees is not a lack of talent or effort in the Bronx, but a persistent narrative problem. \u201cI think there\u2019s just so much bias in thinking about what is possible for the Bronx,\u201d she said. \u201cMany people that I encounter have this 1970s, early \u201880s ideology, like the \u2018Bronx is Burning\u2019 type stereotypical understanding of what the Bronx is.\u201d<\/p>\n
She has encountered that bias firsthand. \u201cI went to high school in Manhattan, and I would meet people, and they would say to me, \u2018Well, you don\u2019t seem like you\u2019re from the Bronx,\u2019\u201d Williams-Belfort recalled. \u201cAnd I\u2019d be like, \u2018What does that mean?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Those assumptions, she said, have real consequences. \u201cWhen we think about investment and philanthropy and driving resources, it is in direct opposition of this bias about the Bronx that emanated from the 70s and 80s,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that isn\u2019t the landscape currently. I think there\u2019s huge opportunity to create pathways for children, families, and for Bronxites.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sees signs of that shift everywhere, from cultural production to political momentum. \u201cThe young people in the Bronx are making things happen,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if you look at the recent mayoral election, Mamdani kicked off his campaign on Fordham Road. I think that\u2019s intentional when you think about how the momentum is swirling around the borough.\u201d<\/p>\n
That momentum aligns with the Foundation\u2019s strategy, which is built around collaboration rather than siloed giving. \u201cOne of the things I\u2019m really excited about is this expansion of cross-industry partnership,\u201d Williams-Belfort said. \u201cMy secret sauce is really bringing folks to the table to work in collaboration, to take a collective action approach in ways they wouldn\u2019t have necessarily seen themselves working together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bronx, she believes, is uniquely positioned for that model. \u201cBecause of the Bronx\u2019s history with music, art, and activism, I think it\u2019s primed for continuing to work that way,\u201d she said. \u201cHow do we bring together corporate stakeholders, elected officials, advocates, and traditional business folks, and give a renaissance to the Bronx\u2019s resilience and creativity when we think about who and how we invest?\u201d<\/p>\n
The need, however, remains vast. Williams-Belfort points to the Foundation\u2019s extensive listening process as a core strength. \u201cThe foundation has had over 1,000 community conversations,\u201d she said. \u201cHaving that real data around the need is important.\u201d From those conversations, four priority areas have emerged: digital equity, housing, healthcare, and economic stability.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is thinking about how do we build out our participatory grant strategy to meet those needs in a very systematized, systemic way,\u201d she said. Just as important is how the money moves. \u201cNot just giving grants, but thinking about capacity building, sustainability, and how we\u2019re working as a collective action unit.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is also focused on trust-based philanthropy and longer-term commitments. \u201cTwo-year grants, three-year grants,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing able to get that long lead of support to really move the needle against some of these very deep and systems-level challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though she has only been in the role for a few weeks, one moment already confirmed that Williams-Belfort is in the right place. \u201cI had my fourth quarter in-person full-day board meeting,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a roll-up-your-sleeves day. We were asking hard questions. We were talking about participatory grantmaking, sustainability, and what the next 10 years look like. We\u2019ve invested $15 million. How do we get to $50 million?\u201d She left exhausted and energized. \u201cI was calling my mentors and my village saying, \u2018I had an amazing day, and I think this is going to be really awesome.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
What grounds her, she said, is both experience and family. \u201cThere\u2019s the head piece,\u201d she said, referencing decades of nonprofit leadership. \u201cBut the heart part of it is my two sons, both born in the Bronx.\u201d She wants the future she is building to be tangible for them. \u201cI want them and young people like them to have equitable opportunity, to create a life that feels joyful and allows them to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
When she looks ahead five years, success is measurable and deeply human. \u201cIt\u2019s all in the data, it\u2019s all in the numbers,\u201d Williams-Belfort said. \u201cIf we can be at a $25 million marker, if we can touch 50,000, 100,000 Bronxites, I would feel like a job well done.\u201d But just as important is the story people tell about the borough. \u201cIf we can debunk this idea of the \u2018Bronx is Burning\u2019 and reframe that narrative to the Bronx as a place of collective action, community power, and investment, then we\u2019re doing the right things.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Williams-Belfort, the work has come full circle. The child who once heard her community described as lacking is now leading an effort to prove otherwise with strategy, capital, and an unwavering belief that the Bronx\u2019s future can be defined by opportunity, not stereotype.<\/p>\n
RELATED CONTENT: SheaMoisture Joins \u2018Fifteen Percent Pledge\u2019 To Expand Dartmouth Fellowship Supporting Black Women Entrepreneurs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors December 22, 2025 By Janee Bolden LaToya Williams-Belfort has spent her career building pathways…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,30991,30994,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-77960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-bronx-community-foundation","tag-latoya-williams-belfort","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"LaToya](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/unnamed-e1766413144117.jpg\")
<\/p>\n