Black Philanthropy - Don't Count Out Black Philanthropists

“Serving others is our highest calling.” - Kia Jarmon

From a very young age, it was instilled in me just how it important it was to serve other people. Whether it be through time, talent, or treasure, it was cemented in my mind that it was your duty to ensure the support others, when and where you can - after all of your essentials were managed, of course.

As a lifetime member of Girl Scouts that message was further modeled with time spent serving others as it was “Girl Scout Law”, outlined in the Girl Scout Promise.

Further, I remember working for a nonprofit in my early adult years where my mentor was also in leadership. She told me, “leave here and go out into the world to make money so that you can give back.” I will never forget that moment or that charge. My role was to acquire the tools in order to be able to give.

As I’ve continued my professional work, particularly working with nonprofits on messaging - for fundraising or general support - the same question continued to come up, “how do we reach young professionals and Black people?”

There are many answers but what at alerted me to was that there was a myth about Black individuals not giving, as a matter of fact according to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation report, “Blacks give 25% more of their income annually than white households…Though research is limited in this area, it also states “nearly two-thirds of African-American households donated to organizations and causes, totaling $11 billion each year.”

Can you just imagine the amount of money that was not documented?

With that, I began outlining the Black Philanthropy Initiative as a way to provide resources to Black philanthropists who desired to better understand how to set up funds, give money, and manage their funds.

The first partnership is with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and as a co-chair with Lisa Swift-Young, we have launched Give Black, Give Back to support the Black funds housed at the Foundation.

In honor and celebration of Juneteeth, we hosted a virtual story sharing event to reclaim the word and action of philanthropy. Because, you too have access to the word philanthropy.

To learn more about Give Black, Give Back or to give to one of the Black-led funds, visit www.blackgivingback.com.

I will provide an update soon on the amount that was raised.