11 Major Foundation Racial Justice Pledges and Progress to Date
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Following the death of George Floyd in May of 2020 and the civil uprisings that followed, numerous philanthropic institutions made commitments to funding organizations working to advance racial justice and racial equity. Inside Philanthropy analyzed a sampling of some of the biggest racial justice pledges from foundations and funding collaboratives to see where things stack up two years after that historic summer. See our analysis of the data and here and some of our take-home conclusions here. Below are details on each of the 11 pledges we looked at.
California Black Freedom Fund
Launched in early 2021, the California Black Freedom Fund (CBFF) is an initiative that aims to provide resources to the state’s Black-led organizing efforts to end systemic and institutional racism. Funders include the Akonadi Foundation, the California Community Foundation, the Weingart Foundation, the Sierra Health Foundation and the Liberty Hill Foundation. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation provides the fiscal and administrative management of the fund. The Surdna Foundation, the California Endowment and CZI, whose own racial justice commitments are analyzed here and in accompanying posts, also provided funding for CBFF.
Pledged: $100 million over a five-year period; $63 million has been raised
Awarded: $25.8 million (25.8%) to more than 74 organizations
Top Categories:
Community/Human Services (26%)
Power-building (19%)
Economy/Financial (13.5%)
Education (10.8%)
Notable Grantees: California Black Women’s Health Project, East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative, African Diaspora Network, Black Skeptics Los Angeles, Black Thumb Farm, Pillars of the Community, Critical Resistance
The California Endowment
The California Endowment, which works to advance social justice and health equity in order to improve the overall health of all Californians, pledged $225 million in July 2020 to support Black-led organizing, activism and advocacy. The pledge builds on the California Endowment’s existing work to fund Black-led community organizing and activism in the state.
Pledged: $225 million over 10 years
Awarded: $14.6 million (6.5%)
Top Categories:
Power-building (38%)
Health (20%)
Policing and Incarceration (9%)
Notable Grantees: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective, Black Women for Wellness, Center for Media Justice, Los Angeles Black Worker Center, InnerCity Struggle
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) — the philanthropic vehicle of Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan — pledged in December of 2020 to support organizations that are working to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion across its focus areas of education, science, justice and opportunity, and community.
Pledged: $500 million over five years
Awarded: $40 million (8%) in 2021
Top Categories:
Power-building (23%)
Legal/Policy/Advocacy (19%)
Education (19%)
Community/Human Services (15%)
Notable Grantees: The American Indian College Fund, Pew Research Center, African American Policy Forum, East Bay Asian Youth Center, Grantmakers for Girls of Color, Khmer Girls in Action
Democracy Frontlines Fund
Launched in September 2020, the Democracy Frontlines Fund (DFF) focuses on supporting Black-led organizations looking to build power at the community level. DFF’s initial commitment was $36 million over three years. However, with an additional two funders joining, the commitment rose to $42 million and its time frame was extended through 2025. Funders include Sobrato Philanthropies, the MacArthur Foundation, the JPB Foundation, the Stardust Fund and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The Libra Foundation spearheaded DFF’s creation. The Hewlett Foundation, whose commitment in this space is summarized here, also provided funding.
Pledged: $42 million over five years
Awarded: $24 million (57%)
Top Categories:
Power-building: 70%
Voting/Democracy: 20%
Policing/Incarceration: 10%
Notable Grantees: Black Futures Lab, Movement for Black Lives, Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, Black Youth Project 100, Communities Transforming Policing Fund, National Black Food and Justice Alliance, Southern Power Fund, State Voices
Ford Foundation
Like other funders here, the Ford Foundation was already doing significant work in the racial justice space. Thanks to its $1 billion social bond, Ford more than doubled its planned funding for U.S.-based racial justice advocacy work for a total of $360 million over a two year period — 2020 and 2021. Of this, $199 million represents Ford’s additional funding pledge.
Pledged: $199 million over two years
Awarded: $158 million (79%)
Top Categories:
Legal/Policy/Advocacy (32%)
Power-building (26%)
Policing/Incarceration (22%)
Notable Grantees: Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Law Caucus, Center for Reproductive Rights, Center for Popular Democracy, Detention Watch Network, Dignity and Power Now, Equality Fund, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, Inc., NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Immigration Law Center
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation pledged an additional $170 million to support racial justice efforts. This includes a 10-year, $150 million commitment and $18 million in immediate grants to organizations focused primarily on combating anti-Black racism.
Pledged: $170 million over 10 years
Awarded: $31 million (18%)
Top Categories:
Power-building (31%)
Legal/Policy/Advocacy (15%)
Economy/Financial (10%)
Health (10%)
Notable Grantees: AAPI Civic Engagement Fund, Asian Immigrant Women Advocates, Black Futures Lab, Black Women’s Health Imperative, Center for Investigative Reporting, Data 4 Black Lives, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Race Forward
Lumina Foundation
The Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation works to ensure learning opportunities beyond high school are available to everyone. In recent years, Lumina shifted its focus to make racial equity a more explicit part of its work. Its Racial Justice and Equity Fund “directly supports organizations working to end systemic racism and achieve justice for Black, Hispanic and Latino, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander populations.” The fund was first established in 2017, but in 2020, Lumina committed an additional $15 million.
Pledged: $15 million over three years
Awarded: $9.8 million (65%)
Top Categories:
Education (38%)
Economy/Financial (15%)
Legal/Policy/Advocacy (9%)
Policing/Incarceration (9%)
Notable Grantees: Prairie View A&M, Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Highlander Research and Education Center, National Congress of American Indians, Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Report for America
New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund
The New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund is made up of Black and brown corporate executives in Massachusetts who are working alongside community organizations to address and eliminate systemic racism and racial inequity in Massachusetts. The fund was formed in June 2020 in the wake of Floyd’s death and the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund is held at the Boston Foundation.
Pledged: Though NCF did not pledge a dedicated amount of money it would raise and distribute, it does have a stated goal of raising $100 million.
Awarded: NCF has distributed $7 million to date.
Top Categories:
Economy/Financial (19%)
Community/Human Services (18%)
Power-building (14%)
Health (12%)
Education (12%)
Notable Grantees: Boston Ujima Project, Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, BECMA, Data 4 Black Lives, Brockton Workers Alliance, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, EdLaw Project, NAACP branches in four cities, Roxbury Innovation Center, STRIVE Boston, YMCA branches
Open Society Foundations
The George Soros-founded and chaired Open Society Foundations (OSF) pledged $220 million in July 2020 to organizations and leaders building power in Black communities. OSF pledged that of this amount, $150 million will be awarded through a set of five-year grants. The remaining $70 million was earmarked for more immediate support. OSF later committed an additional $150 million.
Pledged: $370 million over five years
Awarded: Approximately $185 million (50%)
Top Categories: Unknown, full grants list not provided
Notable Grantees: Black Voters Matter, Circle for Innovations, the Rev. Barber’s Repairers of the Breach, and the Equal Justice Initiative
Packard Foundation
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation established its new Justice and Equity Fund in June 2020, pledging a total of $100 million over five years. The $30 million awarded to date includes a $20 million grant to Solidaire Network’s Black Liberation Pooled Fund.
Pledged: $100 million over five years
Awarded: $30 million (30%)
Top Categories:
Power-building (17%)
Voting/Democracy (15%)
Legal/Policy/Advocacy (10%)
Health (10%)
Notable Grantees: Solidaire Network, Southwest Georgia Project, Native Americans in Philanthropy, Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative, Vision Change Win
Surdna Foundation
A longtime social justice funder, the Surdna Foundation pledged an additional $36 million over three years to support organizations working to address structural racism. To date, Surdna has allocated $33 million (92%), $12 million in the first year of its commitment and $21 million in the second year. Pending annual endowment valuation, Surdna will allocate between $6 million and $12 million for the third and final year of its pledge meaning its total commitment will be between $39 million and $45 million, exceeding its initial commitment. These grants are in addition to Surdna’s ongoing work to support racial justice, which totaled $95.3 million in the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
Pledged: $36 million over three years
Awarded: $12 million (33%)
Top Categories:
Power-Building (32%)
Culture (22%)
Economy/Financial (21%)
Notable Grantees: Action St. Louis, Black Worker Initiative Design Studio for Social Intervention, First Peoples Fund, Make the Road New York, Georgia Youth Poll Worker Project, NDN Collective, New Georgia Project, the Movement for Black Lives, Solidaire Network
