IE Black Equity Fund launches Black Friday Giving Campaign

The IE Black Equity Fund is launching an online giving campaign Friday, Nov. 27, that will run until Tuesday, Dec. 1, which is Giving Tuesday.

Money raised will benefit more than 40 organizations that are addressing inequities in the Inland Empire. These organizations focus on issues including higher education, youth empowerment, criminal justice reform and civic engagement.

Inland Empire nonprofit groups receive the least amount of funding in the state compared to other counties. In addition to this disparity, organizations led by people of color have not benefitted from public and private financing to the same extent as their white counterparts, according to recent research from the Center for Social Innovation at UC Riverside.

“One out of every seven Black residents in California live in the Inland Empire,” said Celia Cudiamat, Inland Empire Community Foundation’s Vice President of Grants and Community Impact. “In the wake of our country’s reckoning on race and COVID disparities within the Black community, the IE Black Equity Fund is more important than ever.”

By giving to the Black Equity Fund, donors have the opportunity to learn more about the issues and solutions within the Black Community and Black-Led organizations. The organization hopes to build awareness within the community and donors, creating understanding as well as support.

Gifts help create momentum for the fund and its goal of offering greater philanthropic support to positively impact the African American community in the Inland Empire, said Felicia Jones, associate director at Congregations United for Prophetic Engagement.

IE Black Equity Fund was launched by Black Equity Initiative, a coalition of nonprofit leaders whose work is focused on issues from criminal justice reform and education attainment to affordable housing and economic mobility. The organization partnered with IE Funders Alliance, Inland Empire Community Foundation and UCR’s Center for Social Innovation.

The fund is seeded by investments from the foundation and The California Endowment. Additional funders include Inland Empire Health Plan, Western Wind Foundation, Alta Loma Enterprises as well as individual donors, families and businesses.

Donors giving during the campaign that begins Black Friday will help further build this fund, which has a goal of $5 million. Contributions from funders and individual donors will support Black-led organizations with a goal of creating better outcomes within local communities. Gifts given to IE Black Equity Fund will be pooled with other donations, increasing the impact of donations.

Once the fund is determined to be of a sufficient size for distribution, the IE Black Equity Initiative in partnership with the IE Funders Alliance, will make recommendations to the Inland Empire Community Foundation’s board of directors for approval.

Money will be distributed through a model called “trust-based” philanthropy. This model of philanthropy centers the Black Equity Initiative’s 40-plus members as decision-makers in the distribution of resources. Following board approval of funding recommendations, Inland Empire Community Foundation will award grants to the recommended nonprofits.

Applications and funding will be announced.

“There are solutions within the Black community that deserve and need investment to achieve greater scale and impact,” Cudiamat said. “Leaders of color in the IE need more investment to address inequities affecting this community.”

The Black Equity Fund encourages individuals interested in their work to support their favorite nonprofit groups during this season of giving, share information about the campaign and donate online at iegives.org/ieblackequityfund.

Information: iegives.org/ieblackequityfund or blackequity.org

Inland Empire Community Foundation works to strengthen Inland Southern California through philanthropy.

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