What do Black-led nonprofits and their leaders need right now?
Black-led nonprofits are underfunded, under-supported, and often asked to downplay race when describing their work. Recent research and nonprofit leaders’ voices reveal what needs to change.
August is Black Philanthropy Month, dedicated to celebrating and empowering Black giving in all its forms. But we also want to highlight the challenges many Black-led nonprofits and their leaders face—and overcome—year-round. Since 2023, Candid has partnered with ABFE on a multiyear, multi-report research initiative to learn more about Black-led nonprofits’ experiences. Here are some of the findings, plus recent articles featuring nonprofit leaders’ voices.
We’re also hosting a LinkedIn Live conversation about Black Philanthropy Month on August 19 with POISE Foundation CEO and President Mark Lewis and Black Resilience in Colorado Fund Executive Director LaDawn Sullivan, along with Candid Education Programming Manager Ivonne Arauz Simms and Lead Researcher Stephanie Wormington. Join us!
Black nonprofit leaders lead small, underfunded organizations
The more you know: Key facts about Black nonprofit leadership. Two fact sheets from Candid and ABFE highlight the limited budgets Black nonprofit leaders—nearly two-thirds of whom are women—work with: They lead 28% of the smallest organizations with budgets under $50,000 but only 12% of those with budgets over $10 million. And Black CEOs are underrepresented in proportion to state populations.
How can funders better support Black nonprofits for lasting change? The latest report from ABFE and Candid finds that in 2016-2023, Black-led nonprofits were less likely than other organizations to receive foundation grants. Small Black-led nonprofits were least likely to receive grants or to have continuing funders.
Black leadership and Black experiences in the social sector. Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) also face severe underfunding. Candid and ABFE found that between 2002 and 2019, Ivy League schools received, on average, 178 times more foundation funding than HBCUs. And even non-Ivy schools received about 50% more than HBCUs of comparable size, region, and institution type.
Black-led nonprofits lack financial, political, and social support
Words matter: Black-led nonprofits and race in today’s funding environment. According to a 2025 survey by ABFE and Candid, 15% of Black-led and -serving organizations report being advised to avoid mentioning race when describing their work. More than half of Black-led nonprofit leaders interviewed received either direct or subtle messages from funders to modify their race-explicit language, and one-third anticipated negative funding outcomes if they did not comply. This lack of support takes not only a financial but also a psychological toll on Black nonprofit leaders.
Why do some nonprofits give up on applying for foundation grants? It’s no wonder, then, that some Black-led nonprofits stop applying for grants. Interviews with CEOs of Black-led nonprofits found that the lack of previous grants is a barrier to receiving grants, the lack of funder feedback discourages them from applying for other grants, and having to tailor their language for each funder is a burden for under-resourced organizations.
Empowering change: Black-founded nonprofits achieving impact with limited resources. Data from Giving Gap and Candid shows Black nonprofit founders struggle to secure both funding and trust: 22% reported no increase in funding post-2020, and 97% said they needed general operating support. In addition, funders’ shift to prioritize direct services over capacity building has limited their ability to tackle systemic issues.
Black nonprofit leaders need unrestricted funding, equitable investment
Stop mistaking Black girls’ resilience for a lack of need. Black communities and the Black nonprofit leaders who serve them are often lauded for their resilience, but that’s no reason to expect them to continue doing more with less. Ladies of Love founder and CEO Jamila Trimuel explains how unrestricted funding is essential to sustaining the long-term investment these nonprofits make in communities and the outsize impact they make.
What could equitable investment in Black nonprofit leaders look like? Not only do grantmakers underfund Black-led nonprofits, they underinvest in their leaders in failing to provide resources that help them navigate systemic challenges in the sector, argues SEM Link founder Tokiwa T. Smith. One example of equitable investment is leadership development program for Black nonprofit leaders, particularly Black women, that prioritizes well-being, building support networks, and advancing equity in change.
Combining funding with mentorship for sustainable nonprofit capacity building. Here’s a successful example of building capacity by pairing grant funding with mentorship resources. The funder (Jessie Ball duPont Fund), mentor (Self-Help Credit Union), and nonprofit (Richmond Heritage Federal Credit Union) aligned on priorities to meet community needs and enhanced governance and operations for long-term sustainability.
What’s working: Strategies for Black-led nonprofits
So, what sources of support are Black-led nonprofits able to rely on, and how are Black leaders reshaping philanthropy?
How BIPOC-led philanthropy is rising to the challenge. Democracy Fund Senior Director of Partnerships Lauren Hill highlights 2025 findings on how BIPOC-led grantmakers and BIPOC-identifying donors were increasing flexible funding, supporting scenario/contingency planning, helping grantees respond to legal challenges and scrutiny, and helping improve grantee cybersecurity. These funders and donors also see person-to-person organizing and community-building movement work as crucial to strengthening democracy.
BIPOC donors are driving bold change in philanthropy. The Donors of Color Network has been helping BIPOC donors leverage not only dollars but their influence to encourage bold investments in climate justice. BIPOC donors should be seen as natural allies against retrenchment of funding to BIPOC-led organizations, argues DOCN Executive Director Isabelle Leighton.
What philanthropy can learn from Black women-led and community-centered funding. Black women leaders are reshaping funding to shift power to those closest to the work. Social Good Solutions Founder and Chief Architect Kaci Patterson explains how community members serve as funders, determining strategy, selecting grantees, and defining success metrics based on their lived expertise.
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