WS Chronicle

The Black Philanthropy Initiative (BPI) announced that $26,800 in grants has been awarded from the Black Philanthropy Fund’s Impact Grants program. BPI’s Impact Grants are investments in local programs, projects and initiatives that support issues impacting the Black community in Forsyth County. This program looks to invest in Black-led organizations/groups with annual budgets of less than $150,000, recognizing that there are local groups/organizations doing impactful work that are newer and/or have smaller budgets than their counterparts. 

For this second Impact Grant cycle, grants of up to $5,000 were offered instead of the $1,000 grant maximum in the first cycle due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on our community. 

Video proposals were requested from organizations/groups doing work focused on the four key areas in its Rethinking Philanthropy report (education, jobs and wages, poverty, and civic engagement), as well as criminal justice reform or racial justice efforts. Grants were awarded to: 

*Hope to Thrive: $5,000 to provide food and services to families of color that promote health and well-being

*Journee Bees Village: $5,000 to provide virtual financial education, social and emotional support, and career planning to young men

*Love Community Development Corporation: $5,000 to support senior volunteers offering virtual tutoring in reading for students in grades K-3

*The Wells Center: $1,800 to support a post-release program for formerly incarcerated women

*Winston-Salem African American Archive: $5,000 for educational presentations and tours featuring the history of the local African American community

*Masjid Al-Muminun: $5,000 for food basket distribution for families living in poverty and scholarships for students pursuing higher education

During Black Philanthropy Month, BPI is grateful for this opportunity to invest in Black-led organizations doing impactful work to support the local Black community. 

Leroy Davis, chair of BPI’s grants committee, notes, “This is an exciting way to celebrate August’s Black Philanthropy Month. BPI is grateful for the opportunity to invest in local Black-led organizations that are creating significant impact in our Black community.” 

BPI will have its traditional grant round focused on equity in education in fall 2020 and will offer additional Impact Grant cycles in 2021.

For more information on The Winston-Salem Foundation and the Black Philanthropy Initiative, visit wsfoundation.org/BPI.