Racial Equity & Philanthropy

Kia Croom

Kia Croom is an ardent supporter of the Movement For Black Lives (M4BL), which was born in 2014 after police killed Michael Brown, and hit an inflection point in 2020 following George Floyd’s murder, which sparked racial injustice protests globally.

Kia champions racial justice in philanthropy for people and communities of color by directing companies looking to make charitable contributions to Black-led (and BIPOC-led) nonprofits across the nation. She stridently speaks out about how Black-led and BIPOC-led nonprofits receive less funding and encounter more scrutiny than white-led nonprofits through philanthropic discrimination— rooted in systemic racism.

To date, Kia has partnered with over 100 fortune companies—directing their philanthropic contributions totaling over $10 million in STEM education for thousands of Black and Brown students nationally. Contact us today to learn ways your company can make impactful charitable investments in communities of color to fight racial inequities.

Kia is challenging companies to make deep, charitable investments in Black-led and BIPOC-led nonprofits across the nation to address the racial inequities plaguing communities of color.

Through the Just Philanthropy Initiative, Kia connects philanthropic-minded companies  with Black-led and BIPOC-led nonprofits  to create high-impact partnerships that address the racial inequities that plaguing the Black community including: social determinants of health, education inequity, homelessness, hunger, systemic racism, STEM inequity and more.

Kia is frustrated by the philanthropic discrimination that has and continues to be perpetrated against Black and BIPOC-led nonprofits. To promulgate awareness about the philanthropic disparities Black and BIPOC-led agencies contend with compared to the experiences enjoyed by white-led organizations. We’ve complied a list of resources Kia frequently references when advocating for Racial & Philanthropic Justice for people and communities of color.

We hope the tools, guides, resources, and more listed here will help donors, families, foundations, companies, and others in the field of philanthropy support and accelerate efforts to create a more just giving to Black and BIPOC-led agencies.

Racial Equity & Racial Justice Articles, Blogs, Opinion Pieces

Continuing Your Racial Equity Journey

Racial Equity & Racial Justice Guides, Reports & Tools

Racism, Equity, and COVID-19

Thought Leaders on Racial Justice in Philanthropy

  • ABFE: A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities: ABFE is a membership-based philanthropic organization that advocates for responsive and transformative investments in Black communities. Partnering with foundations, nonprofits and individuals, ABFE provides its members with professional development and technical assistance resources that further the philanthropic sector’s connection and responsiveness to issues of equality, diversity and inclusion.
  • CHANGE Philanthropy: CHANGE Philanthropy (formerly known as Joint Affinity Groups) was founded in 1993 to unify identity-focused philanthropic affinity groups into an empowered coalition. CHANGE Philanthropy’s seven core partners are working to integrate diversity, inclusion, and social justice into philanthropic practice, transforming the sector’s culture to be one that embraces equity.
  • Funders for Justice: A national network of funders increasing resources to grassroots organizations addressing the intersection of racial justice, gender justice, community safety, and policing.
  • Funders for LGBTQ Issues: A network of more than 75 foundations, corporations, and funding institutions that collectively award more than $1 billion annually, including approximately $100 million specifically devoted to LGBTQ issues.
  • Justice Funders: Justice Funders is the home of Bay Area Justice Funders Network while also 1) offering professional and leadership development programs, 2) providing coaching and consulting for organizational transformation; and 3) designing, piloting and scaling innovative collaborations that advance social justice movements. By engaging in these multiple areas of programming, Justice Funders is ushering a Just Transition within the field of philanthropy to take a proactive role in building the world we need.
  • Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE): PRE aims to increase the amount and effectiveness of resources aimed at combating institutional and structural racism in communities through capacity building, education, and convening of grantmakers and grantseekers.
  • D5: In 2007, 50 foundations and allied leaders began the Diversity in Philanthropy Project (DPP), a time-limited campaign to expand diversity in the field. D5 was the culmination of this effort. D5 was a five-year coalition to advance philanthropy’s diversity, equity, and inclusion. As our constituencies become increasingly diverse, we need to understand and reflect their rich variety of perspectives in order to achieve greater impact.
  • Darren Walker, CEO Ford Foundation
  • Susan Taylor Batten, CEO Association of Black Fundraising Executives
  • Edgar Villanueva
  • Black Freedom Collective
  • Black Philanthropic Network
  • The Center for Effective Philanthropy
  • Ford Foundation
  • Communities for Philanthropic Justice