BACKBLACK CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES TO CONNECT BLACK-LED NONPROFITS WITH PHILANTHROPIC CAPITAL

In honor of Black Philanthropy Month, coalition of giving platforms, donors, and partners launch campaign to close funding gap facing Black-led organizations

NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2023  /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of major giving platforms and donors today launched the BackBlack campaign to address funding disparities affecting Black-led nonprofits. Starting this August, during Black Philanthropy Month, Black-led nonprofits can access a central hub – BackBlackMovement.org – to connect with resources and funding opportunities across platforms. 

Black-led nonprofits remain underfunded by donors compared to White-led organizations. Combined funding to Black communities is 1% of all community foundation funding, resulting in an underfunding of Black communities of $2 billion (National Center for Responsive Philanthropy). Moreover, revenues of Black-led nonprofits are 24% smaller than revenues of their White-led counterparts, and unrestricted net assets of Black-led nonprofits are 76% smaller than White-led nonprofits (Bridgespan Group and Echoing Green). White-led nonprofits are also more likely to receive corporate donations — 71% vs 58% for BIPOC-led nonprofits (Nonprofit Finance Fund).

BackBlack is a collaborative initiative designed to direct more resources and funding to underserved Black-led organizations, as well as tools for donors and corporations to play a greater role in advancing social impact and justice in philanthropy and communities. The BackBlack campaign aims to direct more philanthropic capital to Black-led organizations, build greater awareness of racial disparities in funding, and generate new data and insights to close the funding gap. BackBlackMovement.org is a central hub where donors, giving platforms, and Black-led nonprofits and organizations can connect each other with resources and funding to achieve shared goals.

Partner organizations supporting the launch of BackBlack include Bonterra, Charity Navigator, Charityvest, Deed, Endaoment.org, Every.org, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Give 8/28 Day, Givebutter, Giving Compass Network, Giving Gap, GlobalGiving, Grapevine, HERitage Giving Fund, Lightful, MightyCause, Network for Good DAF, and PayPal. Many of these organizations are part of a new Giving Platform Collaborative aimed at solving disparities in philanthropic funding. The Giving Platform Collaborative originated during the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's 2023 Greater Giving Summit, which convened stakeholders from across the giving ecosystem to celebrate everyday generosity and build a more inclusive and equitable giving sector. BackBlack is the collaborative's first activation.

"There is great power when we leverage the expertise and resources of many to come together for good," said Floyd Jones, Director of Community & Partnerships, Givebutter, who is coordinating the BackBlack effort. "We've built the Giving Platform Collaborative to address and work together on disparities in philanthropy, including racial inequities. With BackBlack, we aim to support and uplift Black-led nonprofits, connecting these organizations with resources and funding to achieve their goals. This is just the beginning – with the Giving Platform Collaborative and our partners coming together to BackBlack, we can close the gap."

"Giving platforms have tremendous influence on where donors choose to donate. Supporting Black leaders and nonprofits is a critical piece in tackling systemic racism," said Heather Infantry, CEO of Giving Gap, a platform that advances racial equity in charitable giving. "We are excited to be part of the Giving Platform Collaborative to activate our partners to both 'BackBlack' nonprofits and demonstrate the Black nonprofit sector's breadth of offerings. Together, we will gain valuable insights for future campaigns and provide a baseline for how we can close the giving gap."

Donors and giving platforms can visit BlackBackMovement.org to learn how they can help close the funding gap by donating to Black-led nonprofits, building awareness, and sharing data and insights to support the movement. Black-led nonprofit organizations can visit BackBlackMovement.org to access funding opportunities and resources.

About BackBlack

BackBlack is the first activation from the Giving Platform Collaborative, a partnership of major fundraising platforms in the U.S. working together to solve disparities in philanthropy. The collaborative emerged from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's 2023 Greater Giving Summit, which convened stakeholders from across the giving ecosystem to celebrate everyday generosity and build a more inclusive and equitable giving sector. The BackBlack campaign aims to direct more philanthropic capital to Black-led organizations, build greater awareness of these racial disparities in funding, and generate new data and insights to help close the funding gap. For more information on BackBlack and funding opportunities for Black-led organizations, visit www.BackBlackMovement.org.

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