African American Philanthropy Fact Sheet (PDF)

“I raise the funds, to support the work that helped raise me up.”
— Pam Pompey, director of grassroots fundraising for Grassroots Leadership

The face of the country is changing and with it, the face of philanthropy. By 2050, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that people of color will comprise more than half of the U.S. population. As the population has diversified, so too have the profiles of those positioned to give back to their communities. Today, increasing numbers of people of color are finding innovative ways to leverage personal assets to benefit their communities. 

A Tradition of Giving

  • African Americans have always given informally but generously to mutual aid societies, their churches and members of the community in need.
  • A 2003 Study in the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that African Americans donate 25 percent more of their discretionary income than Americans of European descent.
  • Today, nearly two-thirds of African-American households give to charity more formally, to the tune of $11 billion dollars each year.

African-American Wealth Is Growing

  • Between 1990 and 2004, the African-American population grew more than 20 percent, to 36 million people.
  • Black-owned businesses have grown nearly 50 percent in the last decade and account for over $100 billion dollars in annual sales.
  • Researchers estimate that African-American buying power rose more than 125 percent between 1990 and 2004.

Finding Innovative Ways to Give Back

  • The Change Fund is a giving circle for young African-American professionals in the Baltimore area, designed to expand their involvement in philanthropy and to further awareness of social issues. So far, members of the Fund have raised $12,000 to support organizations working to improve access, education, and leadership among African American youth in Maryland.
  • Tiffany Singleton of Houston, Texas rallied alumni and business colleagues in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to raise $20,000 to rebuild destroyed sections of her alma mater, historically black Dillard University in New Orleans. Singleton relied on the skills she gained from her participation in SIRV (Saving, Investing and Returning Value), a program sponsored by her employer, JPMorgan Investment Bank, that teaches young financial professionals of color how to combine wealth management with philanthropy.
  • In her professional role as director of grassroots fundraising for Grassroots Leadership, Pam Pompey raises money to support advocacy efforts to abolish for-profit prisons. She also leverages her fundraising experience to coordinate Ujamaa, a philanthropy and fundraising training program for southern African-American leaders under age 35. Since 2003, Pompey has trained 35 young leaders who are now applying the skills they learned to raise money to meet community needs.