{"id":570141,"date":"2026-04-07T17:11:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/570141\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T17:11:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:11:10","slug":"black-nonprofits-didnt-see-lasting-philanthropic-commitments-made-after-george-floyds-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/570141\/","title":{"rendered":"Black nonprofits didn’t see lasting philanthropic commitments made after George Floyd’s murder"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The racial reckoning that followed George Floyd<\/a> \u2018s murder in 2020 carried hopes of new support for disproportionately underfunded, Black-led nonprofits<\/a>. American companies stepped up donations<\/a> to historically Black colleges and universities. Major climate funders pledged to give more toward minority groups<\/a>. Large donors sought to narrow the racial wealth gap.<\/a><\/p>\n

But new research released Tuesday shows that such financial gains for many Black-led nonprofits were short-lived, if they happened at all. A subset of large, Black-led nonprofits saw only temporary funding increases between 2020 and 2022, according to the analysis by nonprofit research service Candid and Black philanthropy group ABFE. Smaller organizations saw no significant change.<\/p>\n

The pattern of disinvestment put many community groups at a greater disadvantage when President Donald Trump\u2019s policies curtailed funding for diversity, equity and inclusion<\/a>. The nonprofit sector\u2019s struggles deepened<\/a> as the administration threatened a range of social service programs, left future grants uncertain by cutting agency staff and chilled racial justice funding through anti-DEI executive orders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright noted these community nonprofits are the same ones now tasked with helping more and more low-income families deal with spiking healthcare costs<\/a> and rising food prices<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re literally being asked to do more with less resources,\u201d Albright told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Small, Black-led nonprofits tended to have to rely on new rather than continuing funders, losing out on transformational relationships that sustain their longer-term goals and cushion them through challenging periods. These small organizations \u2014 those with annual expenses of $1 million or less \u2014 got just over one-third of their funding from continuing supporters, according to the report.<\/p>\n

The dynamic rang true for a South Side Chicago group serving a predominantly Black neighborhood among the city\u2019s most impoverished<\/a>. Asiaha Butler, the CEO of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood, cofounded the nonprofit more than 15 years ago to empower her neighbors to combat their area\u2019s negative narratives.<\/p>\n

That mission had a handful of consistent backers. But summer 2020 brought more than two dozen new funders.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, we were desirable for people to fund,\u201d recalled Butler, adding the \u201cspurt\u201d became a \u201ccurse\u201d as the quick infusion of capital tapered off. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe started seeing this revenue and thinking we\u2019re gaining really great relationships with funders,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd, really, those priorities shifted quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lacking relationships<\/p>\n

Foundations lacked relationships with Black organizations of any scale prior to 2020, according to ABFE CEO Susan Taylor Batten.<\/p>\n

Black philanthropy professionals say that distance created a scramble when protestors demanded businesses and philanthropies address systemic racism.<\/p>\n

Kia Croom, whose fundraising firm works with nonprofits in Black communities, said her clients received more funding than ever from corporations. Some hired additional development staff to meet the demand \u2014 and then underwent layoffs when funds disappeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a very transactional gift at best,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Positive Results Center CEO Kandee Lewis oversees a Los Angeles nonprofit assisting survivors of domestic violence and other harms. It was wonderful, she said, to receive checks from new supporters. But oftentimes, the support turned out to be a one-time donation rather than the beginning of a relationship.<\/p>\n

Lewis felt the funding came only because her group was Black-led \u2014 not because funders understood its work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were so busy trying to figure out who was who that they didn\u2019t really take time to get to know people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Limited networks<\/p>\n

Jaleesa Hall knows philanthropy is a relationship game.<\/p>\n

She heads Raising A Village Foundation, which aims to advance educational equity through tutoring programs. She didn\u2019t have many high net worth members in her network when she founded the Washington, D.C. nonprofit more than six years ago. <\/p>\n

That circle made it difficult to catch the attention of foundations, which she said \u201chaven\u2019t really cracked\u201d how to find potential grantees outside of their existing web of connections.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmall, Black-led nonprofits simply aren\u2019t in those rooms to begin with,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n

Most of their foundation grant dollars came from first-time funders, according to the report.<\/p>\n

Cathleen Clerkin, the associate vice president of research at Candid, said the nonprofits\u2019 work is made even more challenging by the \u201csong and dance\u201d necessary to secure long-term investment every year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just constantly going on first dates with new funders and hoping that somebody will invest in them and understand them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Small nonprofit leaders are so focused on day-to-day upkeep and financial viability that they don\u2019t have time to attend networking opportunities or money to fly out for national convenings.<\/p>\n

T\u2019Pring Westbrook, a nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute\u2019s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, co-founded a consulting group that works with small nonprofits. The problem isn\u2019t that foundations don\u2019t want to support marginalized communities, she said, but that they do so through \u201ctrend funding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe during Black History Month there will be a funding campaign,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the thing about a campaign is a campaign doesn\u2019t build sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Restrictive practices<\/p>\n

Small nonprofits say they face additional barriers, regardless of race, including grant eligibility requirements. And limited staff may prevent qualifying organizations from keeping up with foundations\u2019 required weekly or monthly reports on the status of projects they\u2019ve funded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ends up feeling like a burden,\u201d Hall explained. \u201cThe juice isn\u2019t worth the squeeze.\u201d<\/p>\n

Philanthropy has seen a sector-wide shift towards trust-based models that offer general operating support and multi-year grants, acknowledging nonprofits\u2019 expertise on how to best fulfill their missions. But Batten, the ABFE leader, said Black-led nonprofits generally have not reaped the benefits of those best practices.<\/p>\n

The report showed Black-led nonprofits had significantly fewer continuing funders than their non-Black counterparts. Only one-third received general operating support, compared to just over half of other nonprofits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still seeing remnants of bad practice when it comes to investing in Black communities,\u201d Batten said. \u201cThere\u2019s just no way for a foundation to move its mission for communities in this country, let alone Black nonprofits to move theirs, if we do not evolve this sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Pulling teeth\u2019 in Chicago<\/p>\n

Butler, the Chicago neighborhood association leader, hears excuses now from supporters who gave at the height of the 2020 racial justice movement: \u201cPriorities have shifted,\u201d they tell her, or there are \u201cnew strategic goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle buzz words that just say perhaps this nonprofit — grassroots, Black-led, very focused on the Black population — is probably just not in peoples\u2019 cards to continue to support,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

That downturn delayed a nearly $7 million capital project building off their economic justice work after the post-George Floyd civil unrest. An 8,800-square-foot (817 square-meter) building would include a dine-in restaurant and another Black-owned business. One tenant would provide workforce development trainings. Her goal is to strengthen Englewood\u2019s economic and social fabric through a thriving Black business district.<\/p>\n

By 2023, she had secured a $1 million grant \u2014 her nonprofit\u2019s largest \u2014 to start the project. But she compared her search for additional funding to \u201cpulling teeth.\u201d Past philanthropic partners withheld support. Their prospects weren\u2019t good.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s turning to public funding. The City of Chicago provided a $2.5 million grant and Butler said another $1.5 million state award is pending.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings shifted and so we didn\u2019t want to start soliciting for a capital campaign,\u201d she said. \u201cThe timing was off.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP\u2019s philanthropy coverage, visit https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/philanthropy<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The racial reckoning that followed George Floyd \u2018s murder in 2020 carried hopes of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[8650,28,251452,157,251451,12,6498,12478,793,25217,5630,5629,251450,3031,15960,14734,3766,25218,251449,795],"class_list":{"0":"post-570141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-black-experience","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-cathleen-clerkin","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-cliff-albright","13":"tag-donald-trump","14":"tag-finance-business","15":"tag-financialbusiness","16":"tag-general-news","17":"tag-george-floyd","18":"tag-il-state-wire","19":"tag-illinois","20":"tag-jaleesa-hall","21":"tag-los-angeles","22":"tag-nonprofits","23":"tag-philanthropy","24":"tag-race-and-ethnicity","25":"tag-racial-injustice","26":"tag-susan-taylor-batten","27":"tag-u-s-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}