Center for Social Innovation
For the first time, local, regional and statewide funders have committed to raising $5 million over two years to invest in Black-led organizations in the Inland Empire.
The Inland Empire Funders Alliance on Tuesday, July 14, announced its partnership with the Black Equity Initiative of the Inland Empire to launch the Black Equity Fund, a regional pooled fund, which comes with the promise of long-term investments in local Black-led organizations. The seed money for this fund is coming from The California Endowment and the Inland Empire Community Foundation with the rest of the $5 million to be raised over the next two years.
Black-led organizations in the Inland Empire in particular have been struggling because they don’t get as much funding or support, said Dina Walker, president and CEO of BLU Educational Foundation in San Bernardino, which provides services for area youth.
The Black Equity Fund will hopefully provide opportunities for organizations in the Inland Empire that have not been able to build themselves because of the lack of resources and investment, said the Rev. Samuel Casey, executive director of Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement.
Funders need to repair the damage caused by decades of under-investment in Black communities, said Michelle Decker, CEO of the Inland Empire Community Foundation, a co-investor in the Black Equity Fund.
Local organizations such as Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement, which were instrumental in getting San Bernardino County to declare racism a public health crisis, should be credited for their leadership, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, director of the Center for Social Innovation at UC Riverside, which is also a partner in the Black Equity Fund.
“George Floyd’s murder shocked the consciousness of the nation in ways that other killings should have, but did not,” he said. “We’ve seen statements made by philanthropists and titans in the corporate world. We’re seeing words matched by actions and investment.”
People typically think of South Los Angeles or Oakland as the epicenter of Black power, not often the Inland Empire, Ramakrishnan said.
“But, you saw San Bernardino County, which has not had the strongest reputation with racial equity take the kind of stance they did by declaring racism a public health crisis,” he said. “This shows the innovation and leadership of local Black-led organizations.”
Ramakrishnan says the Black Equity Fund will be a game changer because it gives “more power to the organizations by recognizing their expertise and leadership” and the Center for Social Innovation will be a “data partner” in this initiative, helping monitor its progress and efficacy.
“The older model was when these organizations had to prove themselves time and again,” he said. “With this initiative, the hope is that we’ll see more consistent money for Black-led organizations.”