The Black-led Movement Fund Moves $5.4 Million to Grassroots Organizations in Fall 2020

Since 2016, Borealis Philanthropy’s Black-led Movement Fund (BLMF) has been committed to supporting intersectional Black-led organizing rooted in the values and ideologies of the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL). And this Black Futures Month, we are excited to celebrate Black people, art, culture, joy, and organizing in service to our bold vision for Black liberation.

For many in philanthropy, the racial justice uprisings of 2020 served as a wake up call to our collective responsibility to invest in Black organizing, Black visions, and Black communities. Because BLMF has been consistently building relationships with Black-led grassroots organizations and equity-driven funders for years now, we were positioned to directly respond to the needs of our community, and most importantly, to act. 

We are proud to share that Fall 2020 was BLMF’s biggest season of giving yet! We directed $5.4 million in general operating support to 33 grassroots, Black-led organizations working to uplift all Black people. 

With the support of 31 donor partners, BLMF drastically increased our grantmaking to prioritize organizations and leaders from smaller and emergent grassroots organizations led by Black women and LGBTQ folk building power in the South. 

BLMF’s grantmaking strategy is three-fold: 

1. General operating grants to grassroots anchor organizations in the M4BL; 
2. Tailored capacity building and organizational sustainability support to those groups; and 
3. Project support for activities taking place in the broader ecosystem of Black-led movement work, such as strategy convenings and network gatherings.

Because Black-led organizing is underinvested in, we continue to seek ways to provide long-term support to grassroots groups working to create safe and vibrant Black communities. This level of giving became possible last year. Fall 2020 was the first time that BLMF committed to multi-year grants funding 16 organizations with 2-year renewal grants. 

BLMF is proud to have supported 

• 6 organizations that are in the M4BL ecosystem and have been BLMF grantees since the fund’s launch received two-year renewal grants. 
• 17 grantees who received a second year of funding (key groups in M4BL ecosystem, working in regions where M4BL has prioritized power building, centering queer and trans leadership, advancing work on important policy issues like climate and food justice. 
• 8 new groups organizing against state and community violence against Black women, girls, and LGBT people and working toward a future with alternatives to law enforcement and incarceration.
• 1-year seed of funding for two special initiatives: BLM Grassroots and Southern Power Fund. 

Our current slate of grantees include:

2-Year Renewal Grants to M4BL Ecosystem Groups 

1. BlackOut! Collective 
2. Black Organizing for Leadership & Dignity 
3. Black Youth Project 100
4. Freedom, Inc.
5. Southerners on New Ground 
6. UndocuBlack Network 

2nd Year of Funding for Spring 2020 M4BL Ecosystem Groups 

1. Action St. Louis 
2. Black Feminist Future 
3. Black LGBTQ Migrant Project 
4. Black Trans Fund 
5. Black Visions Collective 
6. Dream Defenders 
7. Equity and Transformation 
8. Essie Justice Group 
9. Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy (GCCLP) 
10. Highlander Research and Education Center 
11. Law for Black Lives (L4BL) 
12. Marsha P. Johnson Institute 
13. National Black Food and Justice Alliance 
14. NC BLOC 
15. People’s Advocacy Institute 
16. Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative 
17. Transgender Gender-variant and Intersex Justice Project 

2-Year Investments in Black-Led Community Responses to Violence 

1. Black Trans Nation 
2. BLM Louisville 
3. Every Black Girl 
4. In Our Names Network 
5. Interrupting Criminalization 
6. The National Council 
7. Spirit House NC 
8. Women with a Vision New Orleans

1-Year Seed Funding for Special Opportunity Initiatives 

1. BLM Grassroots 
2. Southern Power Fund

We are incredibly thankful to the 31 donor partners for their commitment to listening and responding to the needs of Black organizers and Black communities. Your support has made it possible for BLMF to grow from Borealis’ smallest donor collaborative, to now its second largest. And we continue to be inspired by our grantee partners whose innovation and steadfast dedication to Black liberation is paving the way for a truly equitable world. 

Join our efforts to fund Black-led movement work! It is a priority for the Black-led Movement Fund to remain a trusted resource for Black-led organizers and movement builders who are working for the dignity and respect of all Black people. To learn more about partnering with Borealis Philanthropy’s Black-led Movement Fund and the powerful work of grassroots groups and organizers please contact the Black-led Movement Fund at blmf@borealisphilanthropy.org or our Development Officer at development@borealisphilanthropy.org.