Giving Equitably? Ask Yourself These Five Questions 

Giving Equitably? Ask Yourself These Five Questions

By: Aisha Alexander-Young

The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor began a worldwide conversation about racial justice. At the same time, COVID-19 was gripping the world causing us to question all of the norms operating in our society.

This shift showed up in donors through an increased collective acknowledgment of the role that giving has in addressing systemic racism, and unprecedented commitments and gifts to Black organizations and racial equity causes. Yet it is still not enough. Over 400 years of divestment from Black communities and causes is not filled by a momentary commitment.

Despite Black-founded organizations being on the frontlines of every crisis; from COVID-19 nationally, to the ongoing water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, they experience ongoing disinvestment and a consistent lack of adequate funding. The funding gap between Black-founded and led organizations and their white counterparts continues to grow. All too often, these swells of support and the grand proclamations that come with them are fleeting.

When the organization I lead, Giving Gap, first launched as Give Blck in 2020, it answered the call from donors who wanted to give to Black organizations, but did not know which ones existed or how to find them. Since we launched two years ago, we’ve built an easy-to-use platform for donors to learn about and donate to nearly 1,000 (and counting!) Black-founded nonprofits working across more than two dozen issue areas. We’ve proudly funneled over $2 million dollars to Black-founded nonprofits.

As a Black woman executive leading an organization fighting for the equitable support of Black nonprofits, I have many discussions about how to advance equity, and racial justice in giving. An insightful colleague, Mario Lugay, of Just Funders, has been known to say that there are no tips, tricks, or shortcuts. I cannot agree more.

Advancing racial equity in giving requires unceasing, dynamic coordination, and constantly seeking to seed new beginnings as opposed to finding a means to an end. Equity is not a thing society, systems, and philanthropists can ‘achieve’ so much as the lens that we should use to

inform how we do things, who benefits, and the ability to analyze the impact on various communities.

To advance equity, there are five questions that I encourage all donors to ask themselves while planning their giving:

1. What does my giving say about my morals, the communities I value, and whose leadership I trust?
2. What percentage of my donations this year will go to Black-founded/led organizations?
3. Do I consistently give to Black organizations beyond moments of trauma and tragedy?
4. Am I supporting organizations whose leaders have similar life experiences as members of the communities they serve?
5. What Black-led organizations are doing important work in my local area?

Giving Gap focuses on finding Black-founded organizations to fund because Black-founded organizations are most likely to be grounded in the needs of Black communities. They routinely employ Black people and intentionally build Black leaders. Black communities have been adversely and disproportionately affected by most societal mechanisms, so when they have the resources that they need to carry out their missions in a way that centers their communities the impact is exponential.

Just as important as the money itself is the cultural shift that it will take to get there. That’s why we are committed to our goal to mobilize one million people to give $1 billion to Black-founded organizations on our platform. This will be evidence of the moment that turned into a movement. Once Black nonprofits doing trajectory-changing work are funded at levels comparable to those of their white counterparts, we will be poised to take the most impactful steps yet toward a truly equitable and just world.

The best thing about this problem is that it is one that each and every one of us has the agency to simply decide we will do our part to fix.

About the Author

Aisha Alexander-Young, CEO of Giving Gap, is a context creator, systems disruptor, and community organizer whose career is focused on the intersection of race, place, and opportunity. She has held leadership positions in philanthropy, local government, grassroots organizations, and small and large nonprofits. Before joining Giving Gap, Aisha served as Vice President for Strategy & Equity at the Meyer Foundation, where she led efforts to integrate racial equity and justice into all areas of the Foundation's work. Prior to her tenure at Meyer, Aisha was Director of Thought Leadership for KABOOM! and held leadership positions with the City of Charlotte and Dream Defenders. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE). She lives in Washington, D.C., with her partner and daughter.