History has shown us what’s possible when people come together with a desire to make things better. In San Antonio, just in the past 10 years, it has led to a shared vision that demands institutions be accountable to the people they serve. At SA2020, driving progress toward this shared vision often involves asking people to consider their spheres of influence and control. Where do you hold power and how can you create change?
Today is The Big Give, San Antonio’s 24-hour online campaign of giving to nonprofits.
Nonprofits are important to reaching a better future, and our work would not be possible without philanthropy. All too often, however, funders reinforce unsustainable power dynamics, and nonprofits led by women of color are disproportionately affected.
According to the Building Movement Project (and our own experience), nonprofits led by women of color are doing the very most to stand out among their peers: overcoming barriers to become Executive Directors and CEOs, holding professional and lived experience that strengthens their organization’s impact, advocating for their work in White-dominant philanthropic institutions, and ensuring their teams are cared for through the pandemic.
Research also shows that organizations led by people of color are less likely to receive unrestricted funding. This type of funding is coveted because it trusts nonprofit leaders to use it wherever the need is greatest, rather than for a limited use identified by a donor.
Individual giving, the largest source of philanthropy in the U.S., has the power to disrupt this.
Last year, in the midst of a pandemic, individuals gave $324.10 billion to charitable organizations according to the National Philanthropic Trust. That’s more than three times the amount of giving from corporations ($16.88 billion) and foundations ($88.55 billion) combined. Locally, individuals gave $5.06 million to 509 nonprofits during The Big Give in 2020.
As you participate in The Big Give today and support nonprofits throughout the year, consider learning more about nonprofits led by women of color—including SA2020. On SA2020’s Big Give page, you can explore 98 of our Nonprofit Partners participating in the campaign. Twenty percent are led by women of color. (We’ve also compiled a handy list below.)
Your dollars can help reimagine philanthropic giving, advance racial equity, and support San Antonio’s future.
