The state of Black America is a study of gains and gaps. NBUF will continue to collect cross-cutting information and update this section.

PHILANTHROPY FACTS 

* During the 1800’s, hundreds of organizations provided assistance to the Underground Railroad and the Abolition Movement (Twenty-First Century Foundation, 2001).

* Black churches and mutual aid associations were the first Black philanthropic organizations (Twenty-First Century Foundation, 2001).

* After the Civil War, schools and education were the main focus of Black philanthropy (Twenty-First Century Foundation, 2001).

* The John F. Slater Fund (1882) was the first philanthropy in the United States devoted to education for Blacks.

* The Negro Rural School Fund (1907), was created by Philadelphia Quaker An T. Jeanes. The fund supported Black master teachers (Jeanes supervisors) who assisted rural Southern schools (Southern Education Foundation, 2001).

* The Virginia Randolph Fund (1937) was created to honor the first of these “Jeanes Teachers” with monies raised by Jeanes teachers across the South (Southern Education Foundation, 2001).
* More than half (52%) of black households make charitable donations (White House Council of Economic Advisors, 2000).

* Blacks are more likely to make charitable contributions than Whites (White House Council of Economic Advisors, 2000).

* Blacks are more likely to give to religious organizations than to formal philanthropic groups: about 60% of black giving is to churches (White House Council of Economic Advisors, 2000).

* Racial and ethnic minority communities receive a lower proportion of grants and also receive smaller grants than mainstream communities (National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, 2000).