Greensboro, NC – At its fall meeting, the Board of Directors for the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro unanimously approved a $250,000 grant to the Black Investments in Greensboro (BIG) Equity Fund.
The BIG Equity Fund was established December 2019 with initial funding from Black donors with a vision to be a philanthropic powerhouse that transforms the educational, health and social well-being of the Black community. In 2015, W.K. Kellogg Foundation awarded a grant to CFGG to expand its relationships with donors of color. Over the past five years, through the Expanding Community Giving initiative, CFGG has made significant strides engaging more ethnically and racially diverse donors. This activity highlighted the lack of a permanent endowment focused on funding critical issues in the black community, resulting in the establishment of the Black Investments in Greensboro (BIG) Equity Fund.
According to Athan Lindsay, Director of Community Philanthropy, “Black Investments in Greensboro (BIG) Equity Fund represents the future of black leadership. BIG Equity Fund will be the leading funder on the cutting edge of redefining how funding decisions are made in addressing social justice and racial equity issues.”
“We are thrilled with the unanimous support from our board,” said Walker Sanders, Foundation President. “The unprecedented times we are living in required an unprecedented response. This moment in time presents a unique opportunity for our community to demonstrate its long-term commitment to combating racism and racial inequity.”
The Community Foundation’s Board of Directors has adopted the BIG Equity Fund as its core strategic objective in its anti-racism work along with its continued support of the Expanding Community Giving initiative.
The BIG Equity Fund has secured over $600,000 in commitments. During Black Philanthropy Month in August, the fund launched a community-wide campaign to raise $3 million for the endowment. Grants from the fund will initially support small business development with a focus on wealth building support, addressing the digital divide, especially when it limits educational growth, and addressing health care disparities in the Black community.
News and Record: An investment fund for the Black community
The fund has been featured in the News and Record and Tracy Clemmons’s Fox8 Series “In Black and White.”
BIG Equity Fund is first Greensboro endowment focused on the Black community
For more information about the BIG Equity Fund, please select the BIG Equity Fund in the Initiatives section of this website.