The Foundation for Black Communities was awarded on February 8, 2023, a $200 million grant to establish the Black-Led Philanthropic Endowment Fund by the federal government.
Here is some information from FFBC:
Historic investment to support and empower Black-led, Black-focused and Black- serving non-profits and registered charities to transform communities across Canada.
February 8th, 2023, (Toronto, ON) – The Government of Canada has awarded the stewardship of the Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund to the Foundation for Black Communities (FFBC). This historic and ground-breaking investment of $200 million will positively impact Black-led, Black-focused and Black-serving non-profit organizations and registered charities across the country by investing in them to build, sustain and expand on transformational ideas and initiatives generated by Black communities.
“On behalf of the FFBC Board of Directors, employees, and Black Canadian communities across our nation, we are pleased to accept stewardship of the endowment from the federal government,” said Gladys Ahovi, FFBC President and CEO. “The FFBC was honoured to receive overwhelming community support and over 830 letters of endorsement in response to our proposal for the stewardship of the federal Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund. We look forward to working collaboratively with other Black-serving organizations to realize projects that directly benefit Black Canadian communities and improve social and economic outcomes.”
“In Canada, diversity is a fact, but inclusion is a choice. Our government recognizes the systemic barriers that Black Canadian communities have faced and continue to face,” shares Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion. “The Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund will provide direct support to Black-led, Black-focused and Black-serving non-profit organizations and registered charities across the country to help in the fight against systemic anti-Black racism. This selection is a significant step toward building a more inclusive and more equitable Canada where no one is left behind.”
Black-led non-profit organizations and registered charities are critical to ending anti-Black racism and inequities across the country. However, as concluded in the FFBC’s Unfunded research report, Black-led and Black-serving community organizations are systemically underfunded in Canada’s philanthropic sector. Of the 40 public and private foundations reviewed in this study, only six had funded Black-serving organizations over the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years. Further, grants to Black-serving organizations represented a meagre 0.7 percent of total grants during the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years.
“We celebrate the historic nature of this endowment and recognize the deep commitment to community it requires,” said Djaka Blais, Chair of the FFBC Board of Directors. “Our work begins now.”
Black Canadians are calling for a new approach to philanthropy that is reflective of the community being served. The FFBC has experience answering this call, having partnered with organizations like the MLSE foundation, Jumpstart and Laidlaw to distribute over $800,000 in grants to-date and we continue to do so through our own grant-making initiatives. FFBC will use this experience to implement innovative solutions and partnerships to maximize the potential of the Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund. For example, FFBC has already signed an MOU with leading Black organizations to support our administration of the endowment, including lenders and investors such as FACE, Groupe 3737 and BKR. Further, as a part of our proposal, the philanthropic community has pledged to raise an additional $201 million—a transformational commitment.
We thank the Government of Canada for their commitment to establishing the Black-Led Philanthropic Endowment Fund, dedicated to supporting Black-led charities and organizations serving youth and social initiatives.
As it is quite clear from various studies, Black and Indigenous groups have received little philanthropic support from the charity sector, including charitable foundations in Canada that control over $130 billion dollars. The FFBC fund will help to provide some of the support required for Black-led and Black-serving organizations. It will be interesting to see if the Federal government follows this initiative with similar support for Indigenous groups.