Is the equity revolution transforming our society?
When considering racial equity in impact and philanthropic investment spaces we must examine both who is managing the investment of assets for people and institutions of wealth, as well as who is managing the deployment of those assets.
Moore Impact to Scale Its Impact and Bolster the Sustainability of BIPOC-led Enterprises with Support from Pivotal Ventures
Moore Impact receives a transformative contribution to scale its impact as one of the only Black founded and led philanthropic intermediaries in the United States, and to reinvest in BIPOC-led organizations.
Moore Impact Press Contact:
Emerson Soto, [email protected]
(New York, NY) – Moore Impact receives investment to scale its impact as one of the only Black-founded and woman-led philanthropic intermediaries in the United States, with support from Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company. The organization will reinvest resources in “Power Champions,” a cohort of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led enterprises working at the intersection of racial equity and COVID-19 response to foster their long-term sustainability and innovation.
Financing for Moore Impact will strengthen and enhance the operational capacity of the organization to identify, respond to, and invest in BIPOC-led and serving social enterprises. Resources will also be reinvested through multi-year general operating grants and one-time rapid response aid to nearly 30 Power Champion organizations based in the West, Midwest, and Southern United States. With support from Pivotal Ventures, Moore Impact will direct critical investments to communities of color and reverse philanthropy’s disinterest in BIPOC-led social change.
“The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic racism, and historical economic inequities have devastated communities of color across the country. Philanthropy must resource institutions founded and led by BIPOC community members whose leaders know best how to solve the ongoing systemic challenges impacting people of color,” said Yvonne L. Moore, President of Moore Impact. “In partnership with Pivotal Ventures, we can help the philanthropic sector shift resources to fortify BIPOC-led enterprises mobilizing to alleviate the overwhelming impact of these compounding crises on marginalized people.”
Despite the charitable nature of philanthropy, the sector has consistently overlooked capacity-building and funding for BIPOC leaders who have the most lived experience in the very challenges the field is aiming to resolve. The lack of diverse leadership and low funding levels towards leaders of color are clear indicators of the sector’s shortcomings, with devastating consequences for communities of color.
“Providing resources to women of color-lead organizations who are on the front lines of advancing progress toward racial equity in the U.S. is fundamental to our mission at Pivotal Ventures,” said Ada Williams Prince, Senior Advisor, Program Strategy and Investment of Pivotal Ventures. “We are proud to support a diverse group of partners, such as Moore Impact, to help support enterprises who have been impacted by the economic downturn of COVID-19.”
To learn more, visit Moore Impact.
###
About Moore Impact
Moore Impact, a 501(c)(3) exempt entity under Moore Philanthropy, provides a tax-exempt vehicle that allows donor collaboratives, giving circles, advocacy initiatives, and urgent response funds to accept donations and make grants, both in the U.S. and abroad. Learn more.
Investing $100 Million In Organizations Building Equitable Communities
Moore Impact recently partnered with Warner Music Group and the Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund (SJF) to invest $100 million in organizations working to build more equitable communities and create real change in the lives of historically underserved and marginalized people, with heightened attention to Black communities.
SJF’s initial six grant recipients include Black Cultural Archives, Black Futures Lab, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), Howard University, REFORM Alliance, and Rhythm & Blues Foundation.
Established in the wake of the brutal killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black people, SJF will “not only work to effect structural change through our contributions but also support Black-owned and led businesses” says Camille Hackney, President of SJF and Chief Partnerships Officer at Atlantic Records/Head of Global Brand Partnerships Council at Warner Music Group.
Achieving true Racial Equity in Asset Management and Deployment Spaces
When considering racial equity in impact and philanthropic investment spaces we must examine both who is managing the investment of assets for people and institutions of wealth, as well as who is managing the deployment of those assets. The percentages of POC-led firms in these spaces hover at or below a dismal 1%. This session will provide inspiration to influence your organization’s engagement of philanthropic and asset managers of color leading to a better alignment in equity goals.
Strategies to Advance Economic Security for Children and Families in the Face of COVID-19
Even before COVID-19, children around the world had been facing another pandemic, with over 300 million children living on less than $1.90/day despite declining global poverty rates. Now, according to UNICEF and Save the Children, the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic could thrust at least 86 million more children from lower and middle-income countries into household poverty by the end of 2020. In the US, the annual poverty rate will reach levels comparable to the Great Recession, and child poverty is projected to rise by 53%. The implications for child health, safety, social mobility, and well-being are catastrophic and will also widen gender, racial and ethnic disparities. Even amidst this bleak forecast, bold solutions are emerging, from grassroots to grasstop NGOs, policy advocates, funders, and field leaders.
Learn more and play the video.
Reflecting on the Catalytic Impact of Investing in Women and Girls of Color
When I launched Moore Philanthropy in 2015 I made a commitment to highlighting investments made by donors in the African Diaspora, lifting up the demonstrated proof that we are investors and not only recipients. But as I reflect upon Black Philanthropy Month 2020 and my 21 years in institutional philanthropy, I am saddened and quite honestly angered by the ongoing failure to invest in Black women and Women of Color, not only in the U.S. but around the world.
Read the entire piece here.