Announcing Impact Grant Recipients during Black History Month

The Black Philanthropy Initiative (BPI) announces $7,000 in grants awarded through its Impact Grants program. BPI’s Impact Grants are investments in programs, projects, and initiatives supporting Forsyth County’s Black communities, and the grantees are local groups and organizations with annual budgets under $150,000.

During its February 2021 grant cycle, BPI requested video proposals from organizations/groups working in one of the four critical areas in its Rethinking Philanthropy report (education, jobs and wages, poverty, and civic engagement,) or on criminal justice reform or racial justice efforts. BPI prioritized Black-led organizations and programs working within predominately Black neighborhoods (including 27101, 27105, and 27107).

Grants were awarded to:  

• Friends of the Malloy Jordan East Winston Heritage Center – $1,000 for a community garden and greenhouse‍
• Happy Hill Neighborhood Association – $1,000 to conduct a community survey to reach more youth to participate in a summer arts program‍
• Heart of the Future Inc – $1,000 for college scholarships and career readiness packets for high school youth who have parents experiencing incarceration‍
• Hope to Thrive – $1,000 to support an employee training and matching program that places program participants in jobs within the local food industry‍
• Hustle Winston-Salem – $1,000 for a coffee with coaches program that will provide coaching to local Black entrepreneurs while supporting local Black-owned coffee shops‍
• The Quality Truth Organization – $1,000 to provide virtual professional development and skill-building courses‍
• Winston-Salem Black Chamber of Commerce – $1,000 to support career exploration programming and field trips for youth

Awarding these grants during Black History Month is especially gratifying for the volunteer-led selection committee. Robert Leak III, chair of BPI’s Grants Committee, notes, “BPI is grateful to be able to invest in Black-led organizations and communities of color. These grants provide an opportunity for groups to invest in their local community and create an impactful story for others to share.”

BPI’s grants are made possible by the collective pooling of resources from the generous people of Forsyth County to invest in Black-led organizations and support the local Black community. In 2020, BPI provided over $100,000 in grants to local programs and initiatives. Currently, BPI offers two grant programs: Impact Grants and Advancing Equity in Education Grants (a focus area of The Winston-Salem Foundation).

To learn more about these grant programs and find ways to contribute to this work, please visit bpiws.org.

‍