Why Are Black Women Still Being Overlooked?

A Call for Equity in Funding, Power, and Community Investment

As we step into May—a month of renewal, growth, and community—it's also a powerful time to reflect on where we are putting our collective energy and resources. At a moment when diversity and equity have become mainstream talking points in corporate boardrooms and philanthropic campaigns, the numbers still tell a different story.

This month, we are centering a conversation that is long overdue: Black women are still being left behind when it comes to funding their missions, visions, and life-saving work. Despite being at the forefront of grassroots movements, leading organizations that uplift communities, and holding the solutions to some of society’s most urgent challenges, Black women-led nonprofits are being underfunded, overlooked, and structurally sidelined.

The Funding Gap That Can’t Be Ignored

According to a comprehensive report by Candid and ABFE (Association of Black Foundation Executives), the funding gap between Black-led and white-led nonprofit organizations is staggering.

The numbers speak volumes:

• Majority Black-led nonprofits receive less than $3 billion in total sector-wide revenue.

• In contrast, majority white-led nonprofits bring in about $85 billion.

• That means Black-led nonprofits receive only about 3.4% of all nonprofit revenue.

It doesn’t stop there. When we zoom in even closer—specifically on Black women-led organizations—the picture becomes even more dire. A report from the TIAA Institute revealed that of the $67 billion in U.S. foundation giving in 2017, just 1% was designated specifically for minority women.

Let that sink in: 1%.

Meanwhile, it's Black women who are organizing mutual aid, healing communities after gun violence, creating culturally responsive programming for youth, and showing up where institutions have historically failed. They’re not asking to be saved—they’re asking to be funded.

The White Savior Complex Is Alive and Funded

The injustice becomes even more pronounced when we consider who does get funded. Many organizations, often led by white men, receive generous support while positioning themselves as champions of “equity,” “racial justice,” and “community uplift.” Some of these organizations even claim to be “saving Black children” while refusing to fund the Black women who are already doing that work—often unpaid, unsupported, and unseen.

This dynamic perpetuates the harmful white savior complex, where resources and decision-making power are hoarded by those outside the community, while the people closest to the issues continue to go without.

Let’s be clear: equity isn’t real if it doesn’t shift power.

Funding organizations led by Black women isn’t charity—it’s strategy. It’s investing in people who already know how to stretch a dollar, mobilize a movement, and show up for their communities without needing the spotlight.

Why It Matters Now More Than Ever

This isn’t just a matter of fairness—it’s about impact. Black women are often on the front lines of intersecting crises: poverty, racial injustice, housing instability, gun violence, and maternal health disparities, to name a few. Yet they continue to deliver measurable results with limited resources.

Imagine what would be possible if Black women-led organizations had access to even a fraction of the $85 billion flowing into white-led nonprofits each year. Imagine the innovative programs, generational healing, and community resilience that could be cultivated if these leaders were trusted and resourced accordingly.

This is the transformation we’re fighting for. And we cannot wait for another grant cycle or strategic planning session to begin making it happen.

What Equity in Action Looks Like

True equity means putting money in the hands of those who have long been denied it—not with strings attached, but with trust and respect. It means:

• Funding Black women-led nonprofits at scale, not just in symbolic amounts.

• Shifting power by placing Black women in decision-making roles in philanthropy and corporate giving.

• Moving from performative allyship to tangible investment.

• Creating accountability systems within foundations and corporations to track where funding is really going.

• Supporting unrestricted funding so Black leaders can make decisions that best serve their communities.

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This May: Move the Money. Shift the Power.

As we celebrate the milestones and holidays this May—Mother’s Day, Mental Health Awareness Month, and the two-year anniversary of Camera Kids Foundation—we’re doubling down on our mission to advocate for Black-led change.

If you're a funder, ask yourself:

• Who am I overlooking?

• Am I reinforcing the same systems I claim to want to change?

• How can I put more trust, and more dollars, into the hands of Black women?

If you're part of a community that benefits from the work of Black women-led organizations, speak up. Share their stories. Volunteer. Donate if you can. Advocate always.

Because at the end of the day, a more just world is one where those most impacted are also the ones leading the way forward—and being resourced to do so.

Let May be the month where we not only honor the work of Black women but actively support it. The numbers may be bleak, but the movement is powerful—and you can be part of the shift.

It’s time to fund Black women like our future depends on it. Because it does.