Love in Action: Celebrating Black Philanthropy Month at Youth Invest Partners

Love in Action: Celebrating Black Philanthropy Month at Youth Invest Partners 

This month, we are celebrating Black Philanthropy Month, a global celebration aimed to elevate philanthropic giving from Black donors and Black-led organizations creating social change within our communities. This year’s theme is Love in Action, a reimagining of philanthropy as an act of love for humanity. 

As a Black woman-led organization, we are passionate about uplifting Black investors and the importance of investing in organizations that serve our communities. This Black Philanthropy Month, we wanted to share a few insights on the importance of Black philanthropists and racial equity investments.  

First, hear from Michele Hagans, President of Fort Lincoln New Town Corp and long-time investor in Youth Invest Partners, on what being a Black philanthropist means to her and why Black philanthropists must be at the table.   

As a community, we are called to reach back and give people a hand. I recognize that I am where I am today because I stand on the shoulders of Black people before me. I am here because other people opened doors and used their resources, time, and money to keep them open for me. No one let us in; people had to push and fight to create opportunities for themselves and those after them. My responsibility is to invest in future generations and help ensure they have the same or more opportunities than I did to succeed. 

As Black philanthropists, we must lead by example. Black communities and organizations serving them deserve investment from philanthropists of all races. However, before we can expect others to invest in our institutions and communities, we have to do so too. So many of us are where we are today because of non-profits and community-based organizations like rec centers and Boys and Girls Clubs, where someone gave their time and money to resources to help us succeed. By funneling our resources back into those community organizations, we demonstrate how critical they are to our children and why they are essential. It is one thing to tell others why these institutions are important, and it is another to put our money behind those words and show them. If we want philanthropists, donors, and corporations to invest in our communities, we need to show them that they are important to us, and we can’t do that if we are not investing in our community, too.  

And that is one of the reasons I focus my resources on organizations helping young people, like those served by Youth Invest Partners. I am passionate about ensuring my dollars are going to organizations making a difference for the future of our world. Furthermore, young people must see Black philanthropists and leaders and know they can reach their fullest potential. To understand the possibilities afforded them and the rich history that created those possibilities, they must see us in their communities, supporting and doing the work. 

Hear from Edward Kane, Partner of Youth Invest Partners’ Investment Practice group, on why corporations and investors should double down on investing in anti-racism organizations and initiatives.  

In 2020, we saw an outpouring of support and philanthropic investments from corporations, government, and philanthropic organizations to racial justice initiatives, Black-led organizations, businesses, and leadership. Those investments were bolstered by statements from these organizations affirming their commitment to combating racism within their mission, programs, and internal policies and practices. However, since then, we have seen those commitments, and the anti-racist fervor that fueled them, wane or disappear entirely.  Many noble intentions and bold public declarations have withered as radical right-wing coopting of racial justice ideas and anti-racist language and concepts have stoked grievance, fear, and hostility in the public square.  

At Youth Invest Partners, we believe that it is as imperative as ever that we stand up.  Shifts in the public discourse require that we be more thoughtful, more strategic and even more understanding. Realizing a vision of an equitable Greater Washington, where all young people thrive, including those young people whose life trajectories have been undermined by racial discrimination, requires that we continue to be louder, clearer, and more explicit about our commitment to anti-racism. We understand the impulse to shy away as the conversation becomes more hostile. However, by doing so, we allow ill-intentioned, frightened and ignorant actors to delimit our vision, undermine our work on behalf of the most marginalized, and ultimately curb the potential of Black and Brown children. But we know that naming systemic racism is the only way to craft solutions to the barriers it creates. And that removing the racist barriers to social and economic mobility for children of color, specifically Black children, helps to remove such barriers to opportunities for all children. Without the leadership of Black philanthropy to ensure the continuation of these commitments, all our society’s children and families suffer from the lack of meaningful. action and sustained movement toward racial equity.  

As we celebrate the final days of Black Philanthropy Month, corporations, government, and philanthropic organizations should focus their attention on renewing and standing firm on those commitments. 2020 is over but the systemic problems we saw then persist today. And communities of color, particularly Black communities, deserve acknowledgement that those barriers still exist and that their lives matter enough to all of us to do something about it. Youth Invest Partners believes that we can only tear those barriers down collectively. We believe that you are actively combating racism and helping improve outcomes, or you are complicit. We cannot move the needle on racial equity if we aren’t brave enough to call it out and, as Michele noted, put resources behind it. This month serves as our reminder to be brave and reaffirm our commitment to ending systemic racism together. It also gives us an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the past and continued contributions of Black philanthropists, activists, and community leaders to advance racial equity and improve outcomes. Love is, after all, an action.