CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Black Futures Fund announced Friday that Facebook has awarded them $1 million as a part of the social media giant's commitment to support Black businesses, creators and nonprofits.
The donation puts the Fund at over $4 million since its inception on Sept. 1 to invest in and strengthen Black-led and Black-serving social change organizations engaged in anti-racism work in Cleveland. The Cleveland Foundation was one of 20 community foundations that received funding as part of the tech giant's announcement.
"We're excited to work with the Cleveland Foundation to help bring much needed funding to nonprofits that are serving and supporting the Black community in Greater Cleveland," said Marcy Scott Lynn, director of global impact partnerships at Facebook. "We're providing funding directly to the Cleveland Foundation to build on its track record of supporting Black-led nonprofits and ensure that people locally are making the decisions about where these dollars are most needed and can have the most impact."
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The Cleveland Black Futures Fund aims to strengthen the ecosystem of Black leaders and Black-serving organizations in Greater Cleveland by providing resources to help expand the infrastructure and capacity of the organization. Long-term goals of the Fund is to deepen the field of leaders in these organizations with the goal of dismantling systemic racism and advancing the community towards racial equity.
Additionally, the Cleveland Black Futures Fund announced its inaugural advisory committee, which will guide the application parameters and grantmaking process. The committee consists of the following community leaders:
- Courtenay A. Barton, Program Director for Arts & Culture and Racial Equity Initiatives, Cleveland Foundation
- Carrie Carpenter, Board Member, Cleveland Foundation
- The Rev. Dr. Robin Hedgeman, Board Member, Cleveland Foundation
- Constance Hill-Johnson, Board Member, Cleveland Foundation
- Treye Johnson, Regional Outreach Manager, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
- Shanelle Smith Whigham, Vice President, Sustainability & Social Impact, KeyBank
- Timothy L. Tramble Sr., President & CEO, Saint Luke’s Foundation
"We thank Facebook, and all the foundations and individuals who have contributed to the Cleveland Black Futures Fund," said Barton. "Dismantling systemic racism will require the cooperation of people in various capacities to all bee committed to this long-term work. Just as there are visionary leaders on the ground creating new initiatives and responding directly to community needs, there are equally passionate people who can provide the resources necessary to get the work done. The Fund is a vehicle that can connect givers to doers."
