What is Black Philanthropy Month and Why it Matters?
By: Alia Peera
Click to read Part 1 in this series: Standing in Solidarity With My Black Colleagues During Black Philanthropy Month
Black Philanthropy Month (BPM), observed every August, is a year-round social action initiative, featuring a global campaign to elevate African-descent giving. Founded by Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland in association with Reunity, the campaign “was always about the way we harness our giving and community finance traditions to empower ourselves today while creating a better future for Black people everywhere.” It's about redistributing wealth, opportunity, and power. The founders and stewards of this movement knew that awareness and collective action is what will move us forward. Campaigns like BPM raise vital awareness of systemic issues, highlighting both the challenges and inequities in our system, as well as the collective joy of community efforts.
Standing in the role as Director of Development for The Teaching Well, I feel a great sense of conviction and responsibility to stand in solidarity with my Black colleagues in our efforts to shift education paradigms. To me, BPM is more than just an opportunity to spotlight the work of great organizations or boost philanthropic giving efforts—it's a chance to reshape the conversation around how and why we give. While philanthropic giving is on the rise, combined giving to Black communities is roughly 1%. Further, revenues of Black-led organizations (BLO) are smaller than their White-led counterparts by 24%, while net assets of Black-led nonprofits are smaller than their White-led counterparts by 76%. It’s critical that we not only take action, but also create space for conversation around actions not taken or what remains unsaid.
If we truly want to close the opportunity gap, we must critically examine the choices we make in addressing these challenges, including how financial resources are allocated, who has access, and unearth the reasons behind why people give, or choose not to.
I am grateful that I work at The Teaching Well (TTW), a national nonprofit started by and for educators to cultivate healthy organizations and thriving schools – a place that intentionally embodies standing together through our commitment of Collective Liberation. Collective Liberation is one of our core values that we embody daily–taking, radical responsibility to actively disrupt systems of harm within ourselves, our relationships, and in the ways we serve schools and communities. In a short amount of time, I have witnessed both TTW Staff and Leadership model what it means to be co-conspirators for each other's fight in social justice, while also respecting each other's voice. Our commitment goes beyond words; we back it with meaningful action. For instance, TTW holds a pro-Black orientation but takes an identity-forward stance, intentionally creating spaces and content that uplift the diverse communities we serve. During the racial reckoning of 2020, we addressed the Asian Monolith by establishing three separate affinity groups and combating the surge of AAPI hate—an approach rarely seen in DEI efforts. Additionally, we create dedicated spaces for Black, Indigenous, and Latine educators to confront their challenges, identities, and employment trauma. This is another example of our commitment to solidarity and action.
Leadership matters. Black leadership matters. How we empower and elevate those leaders most proximate to the socio-economic issues we are working to resolve, matters. And more importantly, how wealth and philanthropy are distributed in this country matters. Whether it's TTW or other amazing BLO’s, support them! Offer you time, resources, and attention. Take time to think about why you give, learn about their work and take action.
Here are 2 ways you can take action now
Support The Teaching Well: Check out our donor programs and help us Replenish The Well. If you are interested in helping sustain our teachers and school communities, join us now! Your gift, whether one time or monthly, helps to offset the cost of services for teachers so that their school’s budget doesn't dictate their wellness.
Learn more about BackBlack and BPM: Learn more about the BackBlack Campaign founded by Floyd Jones and hear directly from the Founder of Black Philanthropy Month on this podcast. As a Black-led organization serving majority BIPOC school leaders, we invite you to join us in the movement to increase awareness for our org and others during Black Philanthropy Month–consider giving or invite a friend to support pro-black organizations like The Teaching Well.