By Stuart Comstock-Gay and Paul Herdman
Inspired by Black History Month and our unwavering desire to address structural and systemic racism in Delaware and beyond, the Delaware Community Foundation and Rodel are proud to sponsor the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund.
This initiative aims to highlight black voices in our community. Through nominations, the program provides strong, imaginative Black leaders with a financial award to use their voice and solutions for building a fair, equitable, and anti-racist America that better reflects the best of humanity.
Through this partnership, a person from Delaware will be selected as a leader.
Wes Moore, the bestselling author of Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City, co-chairs the fund. Moore spoke to the DCF and our friends during a 2020 “Building Opportunity” keynote.
Click here to learn more about the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund, and click here to nominate a Black leader from your community. The deadline to submit nominations is March 15.
Archive for equity
It’s time to lean into a new normal. If ever a year required us to re-think how things have been done, it’s this one. And the renewed reckoning on racial equity in America is most certainly part of that new normal.
We at the DCF have been deeply focused on Covid response work over the past nine months. During this time, we’ve also reflected more deeply on the growing Black Lives Matter movement, and protests and organizing across the nation. We had the chance to welcome Wes Moore and to engage hundreds of Delawareans in discussions about the deep history of racial inequality, and the need that all of us be part of building a society that is inclusive and equitable.
A big part of how we at the DCF are working on these issues starts with what we learned from the Community Equity Project cohort, a group of Delaware leaders – people with experience addressing equity issues – who met for over a year to define a shared vision around racial equity. We are pleased to release the report of recommendations from this cohort, which will help us continue driving important conversations statewide.
Out of that group’s work, there are six commitments the DCF is making now and for the long-term:
• Make racial equity an explicit priority in all the work of the DCF.
• Increase the impact of resources invested in the community that focus on racial equity.
• Encourage civic discourse – spark conversations throughout Delaware on racial equity issues.
• Shine a light on research and data through our communications channels and events.
• Continue to bring together and rely on the expertise of the Community Equity Project cohort to move the work forward and build broader partnerships.
Those five bullets are only the beginning, and only scratch the surface of course. They have led to specific actions. A new board equity committee – chaired by former federal Judge Greg Sleet – is meeting to develop metrics and resources for the work. Our Wes Moore Building Opportunity event is leading to continued community conversation about how and where Delawareans can engage in this work. We will be launching a new grants program focused on organizations led by people of color. We will be working with consultants to review our own practices – organization-wide – to ensure we are implementing the best practices to ensure perspectives of people of color are represented, heard and honored.
It’s also only the beginning of our work. We know that over time, work on racial equity issues will evolve, improve, and change. And we are committed to being in this work for the long haul.
I also want to thank and honor the people who participated in the Community Equity Project cohort, who are helping lead us to these changes. They are: Daniel Atkins, Rosa Colon-Kolacko, Rebecca Cotto, Dorothy Dillard, Kim Graham, Marshala Lee, Shyanne Miller, Michael Minor, Cimone Philpotts, Jaclyn Quinn, Shardae White and Christian Willauer. Read more about them here. A shout-out also to Social Contract, the outstanding consultants who helped design and coordinate the process.
I urge you to take a look at the report. Each section provides important insights and suggestions.
• Developing an Equity Lens describes the cohort’s work to define equity, and to understand and adopt an equity perspective.
• Empowering Communities provides an overview of the centrality of communities in the journey toward equity and offers recommendations for placing communities and their work at the forefront of the equity journey.
• Restructuring for Impact focuses on the organizational changes necessary to transform structures and processes to support and ensure equity.
• Institutionalizing Equity addresses the changes necessary in public awareness and education as well as in policies and law to shift toward equity.
• The Evolution of the Community Equity Project describes the goals, participants and process of the Community Equity Project.
The year ahead is going to be a momentous one. As we begin to ramp out of the pandemic, we need to keep our eyes on the changes we need to pursue. And in our vision of a Delaware that serves all, racial equity simply must be part of the equation.
I felt hopeful that people with such powerful voices and so many gifts are willing to take such great risks to make sure that change happens. That made me hopeful. But I also felt a lot of anger and embarrassment for myself and for this country. To me, this is the kind of book that you have to participate in a book club for, because you have to be able to unpack it with somebody, otherwise it really weighs on your heart. The thing that I enjoyed about the book is that it really showed how one person can have this ripple effect throughout the community. – Margie Lopez Waite at 9/23/2020 book discussion
The book circles are underway. In our third annual series of book discussions, Delawareans are now using Wes Moore’s Five Days as a stepping off point for deep dialogue about race and equity in our country.
The book tells the story of the days after Freddie Gray was killed in Baltimore – from the perspectives of real people in the city – a business executive, a police officer, community activists, city councilman, and more. Through Wes’ book, we get a chance to hear the thoughts of many, all of whom want things to improve, but all of whom also see these challenges through their own lens.
Americans are seeking to confront our racial past, present and future. More of us are confronting our own role, our own opportunities, weaknesses, and biases. For me, I also come to this with a belief that the vast majority of us want to do the right thing, want to address the historical racism in the country, and and want to make change. But we don’t always know how to do that, have not done that yet, and recognize there is much yet to do. We owe it to our country’s future to lean in, reflect, learn, and be part of the solutions.
A colleague from the community foundation in Buffalo told the DCF Board recently that in their work on equity, they emphasize the importance of “calling people in to the conversation and the work, not calling people out [for their errors and weaknesses].” That’s how we hope this book helps the conversation. I hope this book contributes not just to the analysis, but also toward bringing people into the conversation, and inspiring the change we must see.
Wes will join us in a discussion on Thursday, November 19. We hope you will have read the book, talked with others about it, and are thinking about the change you can make before then. You can also join one of our larger book discussions – and can sign up on our website.
The 500 books we purchased for this event are, fortunately, already out in the hands of Delawareans. So we don’t have any more to send. But the state’s libraries have books to borrow (on-line, too), and the book is also available through on-line book portals. Please check it out, and join us on the 19th of November.
When you have your own book discussions, send us your observations, and photos, and we’ll share them as well. To do that, send comments to Kelly Sheridan (ksheridan@delcf.org).
What a long strange trip it’s been. Others have said it in more clever ways, and with deeper analysis, but 2020 is turning out to be both the year we never wanted to see, and a year that has laid bare our deepest challenges, and will present opportunities to make America better than we’ve ever been.
The pandemic, economic crisis, a continuing political maelstrom… And across and intertwined in it all, a recognition that racial equity is at the core of so very many of our challenges. This work – around equity and race in America – is defining work of our time, and work that DCF is in for the long haul.
It’s for these reasons that we are welcoming Wes Moore as our 2020 Building Opportunity speaker.
DCF’s Building Opportunity speaker series began in 2018 with Robert Putnam, at which point we announced our commitment to focusing on the tragic opportunity gap in America. We promised to keep our attention on the need for a society where all members can flourish. We followed that up with Jim and Deborah Fallows, who traveled the U.S. talking with people who are rebuilding their communities.
And now Wes Moore. He’ll be talking about his hot-off-the-presses book, Five Days. Wes, a Baltimore native, Rhodes scholar, former White House Fellow, and now CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, writes in this book about the aftermath of the killing of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. He tells the story through the eyes of eight people from vastly different walks of life in the city, from business executives to police officers to protestors and family members.
When we reached out to Wes last fall, we discussed our desire to focus our opportunity gap on a specific discussion of race. We thought we’d talk about his book The Other Wes Moore. I won’t describe it here, but it’s a fabulous book, and one that forces us to consider the thin line that often separates lives that are successful, and lives that are not. But then Wes pointed out that his new book would be coming out this summer. And it’s about a police killing, and racial injustice, and people trying to do something about it. It couldn’t be timelier.
Because what we’re seeing in the COVID-19 crisis is that people of color are affected in much higher numbers that white people. We’re seeing more people of color in jobs that keep them squarely in the cross-hairs of the coronavirus. And while these times affect all of us, the greater challenges for Black and brown people are part of our reality, one that DCF is committed to addressing.
This will be an important discussion. Please join us. You can do so in two ways.
First, again we have books to give out to Book Circles. We urge you to read the book, talk about it, and consider where we go from here.
And then join us on November 19 as Wes talks about the book, and the realities of America today. We’re finalizing the details for that day But we think you’ll find it worthwhile.
$50,000 earmarked for grants to minority-led organizations serving communities most affected by pandemic.
In its ninth round of grants, the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund on Friday awarded $108,760 to 13 nonprofit organizations providing services to communities throughout the state.
The fund also earmarked $50,000 to create a new initiative to increase equity in Delaware by strengthening smaller nonprofits (operating budgets $250K and under) led by and serving people of color, who are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Specifics will be determined in the coming weeks.
Friday’s grants will address a broad range of community needs during the pandemic. Grantees are:
- Absolutely Flawless Women — $5,000 to provide meals for families in Indian River School District.
- Bellevue Community Center — $10,000 to provide fresh produce to underserved families in Wilmington.
- Chinese American Community Center — $8,000 to support virtual programming and operations of the facility in Hockessin.
- Clear Space Theatre Company — $10,000 to support operations.
- Delaware Center for Horticulture — $10,000 to mobilize home gardeners to grow and donate produce statewide.
- Delaware Zoological Society — $10,000 to support zoo operations and virtual programming.
- Joshua M. Freeman Foundation — $10,000 to convert the Freeman Stage’s free, weekly Young Audience Series to a virtual program.
- Laurel Public Library — $3,900 for a UV sanitation machine for books and materials.
- Lewes Public Library — $10,000 for equipment to support virtual programming.
- Merakey Allos — $6,500 for equipment to provide services for individuals with intellectual disabilities at Delaware group homes.
- Paws for People — $4,000 to support virtual pet therapy and reading programs statewide.
- Siegel JCC — $16,360 for equipment to facilitate safely reopening the facility in Wilmington.
- Wilmington & Western Railroad — $5,000 for equipment to facilitate safely reopening the historical railroad.
In this ninth round of grants, 51 applicants requested $1.3 million from the COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund, which is housed at the Delaware Community Foundation (DCF).
The fund, which launched on March 18, has awarded $2.5 million to 107 Delaware nonprofits so far. The fund awarded grants each week March 27-May 22 and paused for a week before awarding Friday’s grants.
Next Applications Due June 15
The fund will accept additional grant applications on June 15 at delcf.org/covid-grants.
The grants have been targeting a combination of immediate needs and broader community needs, including the arts, culture, the environment, workforce development, animal welfare and others.
The June grants are target nonprofit organizations – both large and small – playing key roles in various sectors, throughout the state.
While we cannot address the sustainability of every nonprofit organization, the goal of these grants is to strengthen the sustainability of the sectors traditionally upheld by nonprofits, including health and social services, education, the environment, workforce development, animal welfare, the arts, culture and others.
These grants target solvent nonprofit organizations with solid plans for long-term fiscal sustainability and strong leadership and management. The plans should be responsive to the changing environment for funding, as well as evolving community needs. Organizations with a history of serving populations most affected by the pandemic will be favored.
New Grants Programs to Be Announced for Second Half of 2020
The Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund will continue to award grants at least through the end of 2020.
Two new grants programs will be announced on Friday, June 12 at delcf.org/covid-grants. Details are not yet available.
Double the Impact of Your Gift
The council is actively raising money to be able to respond to community needs, said DCF President & CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay.
“As the pandemic continues, the needs are growing and evolving,” Comstock-Gay said. “We are calling on the community to help local nonprofit organizations get food, shelter, medical care and other essential services directly to the people who need it most. We also must support our workforce, arts community and other sectors to restore our quality of life post-COVID-19.”
The Longwood Foundation, which previously gave $1.5 million to the Strategic Response Fund, recently awarded a $500,000 grant, with the stipulation that the DCF must raise a matching $500,000 from the community by Aug. 31.
To make a gift that qualifies for the match, give at delcf.org/covid19-fund or contact Joan Hoge-North.
About the Fund
The Strategic Response Fund was established to address the state’s emerging and evolving needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grantees are selected through a rigorous process that involves a diverse team of more than 50 community leaders representing all three counties and a range of areas of expertise. Final decisions are made by the COVID-19 Community Needs Grants Council:
- April Birmingham, M&T Bank
- Sheila Bravo, president, Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement (DANA), ex officio
- Vernita Dorsey, WSFSAlan Levin, SoDel Concepts
- Leslie Newman, retired CEO, Children & Families First
- Todd Veale, executive director, Laffey-McHugh Foundation
- Enid Wallace-Simms, Delmarva Power
- Amy Walls, Discover Bank
The fund, which is being directed by Philanthropy Delaware President Cynthia Pritchard, already includes generous gifts from the Longwood Foundation ($1.5 million), Barclays ($500,000), New Castle County ($500,000), Welfare Foundation ($200,000), CSC ($100,000), Crestlea Foundation ($100,000), Fund for Women ($100,000), Highmark ($100,000), Laffey-McHugh ($100,000), Discover ($75,000), DCF ($75,000), DuPont ($75,000), M&T ($50,000), JP Morgan Chase ($30,000), Bank of America ($25,000), TD Bank ($25,000), WSFS Bank ($25,000) and others. The DCF also has waived all administrative fees for this fund, so that 100 percent of the funds are going to organizations helping people in need.
The Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund is part of the Delaware COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative, a nonprofit collaborative response to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. The DCF, DANA, PD and United Way of Delaware are partnering to coordinate charitable resources to maximize impact statewide during this crisis.
To contribute, visit delcf.org/covid19-fund.