How can Lexington create more Black prosperity? Here’s one very philanthropic idea.
In the wake of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the Black Lives Matter movement, numerous organizations have tried to figure out how to react, looking to see how they have added to systemic racism and discrimination and what they can do to turn things around.
The Carnegie Center for the Literacy and Learning, for example, recently announced it had not done enough to open the doors of the literary world to Black writers and would now offer free classes to Black writers and a new Black Writers’ Collective.
Over at the Blue Grass Community Foundation, board members realized that local philanthropy was also frequently closed off to many people of color. So this week, they announced a new fund aimed at equity— the Lexington Black Prosperity Initiative.
Led by Lisa Higgins-Hord and Tiffany Daniels, the fund is aimed at grassroots efforts and organizations that will have an immediate impact, and one that is sustainable. That could be a small business or a neighborhood association or even a police activities fund that works with children.
“We want to secure a strong footprint as a fund that will be here for years to come,” said Tiffany Daniels, owner of Chiropractic Care of Lexington and current BGCF board member. “We want to touch the community now because of what we’re going through. The overall goal is prosperity.”
The Prosperity Fund will have two parts. The first is an immediate needs fund, launched with $100,000 from the Thomson R. Bryant, Jr. and Betty R. Bryant Fund at BGCF, Knight Foundation Donor Advised Charitable Fund at BGCF and the Community Foundation. The UK Women’s Basketball Coach Matthew Mitchell and his wife, Jenna, also gave $100,000 from their Mitchell Family Foundation for a total of $200,000.
The second part is the permanent endowment. The Mitchells joined an anonymous donor to issue a $100,000 endowment challenge, which means gifts of any size will be matched up to $100,000.
”A lesson we’ve learned from coaching is how vital opportunity is,” Matthew Mitchell said in a statement. “When you give someone an opportunity, many times you see that opportunity turn into meaningful change in a person’s life.”
Lisa Higgins-Hord, assistant vice president for Community Engagement at the University of Kentucky, said the fund will help grassroots efforts, which may require multiple grants. They’re in the process of developing a request for proposal for people to apply.
“We’re hoping to have an impact on Black people in Lexington’s community,” she said. “We’re doing it on a different scale so that everyone benefits.”
Lisa Adkins, president of BGCF, said the fund members have also discussed ways the fund can address trauma caused by systemic racism, as well as the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on the Black community. In Lexington, the Black population is 14.4 percent, but Blacks make up 16 percent of Lexington’s COVID-19 cases and 28 percent of its deaths.
“The Community Foundation has a deep, abiding commitment to investing in initiatives that make our community more equitable for everyone,” Adkins said. “Justice does not occur on its own. It requires vigilance, healing and hard work. BGCF is committed to advancing this essential work.”
In the past seven months, I’ve heard a lot of people on social media and in person ask what they can do. Well, here’s one possible answer: For more information on donating, go to bgcf.org/racialequity
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 1:08 PM.
