“Without community, there is no liberation.” — Audre Lorde

It changed my life. That’s what I say about being part of a community of giving circle members. I am not alone in my testimony about the power of collective giving and the potency of philanthropy traditions in Black communities.

Eighteen years ago, I joined 16 other residents of Charlotte, North Carolina to form the giving circle, New Generation of African American Philanthropists (NGAAP). Together, we give back and lead in myriad ways. In 2011, NGAAP published Giving Back, an award-winning book on Black philanthropy. In 2015, we launched The Soul of Philanthropy, a groundbreaking multimedia exhibit and vehicle for community engagement. From the outset, we’ve pooled dollars to fund local nonprofits. Now a circle of over 70 thinkers, doers, and givers, NGAAP continues to reclaim the root meaning of philanthropy through collective giving and strategic action for social change — a contemporary iteration of what communities of Black Americans have done for centuries.

Following the televised murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, for months a deluge of solidarity statements, funding pledges, and calls to right wrongs from corporations and major institutions filled my in-box. NGAAP, with its long-running advocacy of racial equity and social justice, welcomed the amplifying voices of seeming new allies. Looking back, the commotion was questionably sound and fury, signifying nothing. Read the full article at Medium.com