BFCF ListeningReport2024 r201 - Flipbook - Page 6
LISTENING TOUR REPORT 2023 - 2024
BLACK FUTURE CO-OP FUND
Introduction
The Black Future Co-op Fund is Washington state’s first
philanthropy created by and for Black people. We are
among a handful of funds created in the last few years,
as America has been reckoning with racism and racial
injustice brought to the forefront by the unequal impacts
of the COVID pandemic on Black people and the brutal
public killings of Black people.
The antidote to philanthropic redlining
In Washington state, Black people have long been vital contributors to our
communities and the growth of our economy. From the early 1900s working aboard
ships and trains, in the military, and in essential services to the present day working
in myriad industries from technology to education to government, Black people play
fundamental roles in the fabric of society. We have undeniably innovated and driven
popular culture that has local, national, and global impact.
Yet, for generations, our work has been unrecognized, ignored, and underfunded
by traditional philanthropy. Only 2% of traditional philanthropic funding has gone to
Black-led organizations, according to ABFE. During the COVID pandemic, Black-led
organizations were called on to step up even more, without adequate resources. It
became increasingly clear that if we want philanthropy to work for Black people, we
need to build our own model of philanthropy.
Inspired to be the antidote to philanthropic redlining, four of us — Andrea Caupain
Sanderson, Angela Jones, Michelle Merriweather, and T’wina Nobles — launched the
Black Future Co-op Fund in 2020.
Through the Fund, we seek to connect Black communities for collective power,
promote truthful Black narratives, increase investment in Black-led solutions that
foster Black generational prosperity, and shift the philanthropic paradigm. Our vision
is a Washington state, working cooperatively, where all Black people are liberated,
prosperous, and self-determined to fully live our lives.
Rooting ourselves in community wisdom
Working cooperatively is central to our vision. It will take all of us to call out inequitable
systems and structures, to break down barriers, and to push for community-based
solutions that enable future generations to be more free than we are. And, we’re
Participants review community-
committed to grounding the Fund in community wisdom.
identi昀椀ed approaches for
economic mobility in the Black
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Well-being report.
