Black Men and Boys Initiative

The Black Men and Boys Initiative is designed to identify, highlight, and support effective strategies that focus on supporting Black men and boys and to surface new sources of support from individual donors and institutional philanthropy to supplement this effort.

The goals of the Black Men and Boys Initiative (BMB) are to:

1. Provide strategic grants aimed at addressing the root causes of problems facing Black men and boys;
2. Raise the visibility of critical issues facing Black men and boys nationally in a way that leads to substantive action; and
3. Leverage additional financial support dedicated to strategies that view Black men and boys as assets.
   

The Black Men and Boys Initiative was launched in four pilot cities:

• Chicago
• Los Angeles
• New York City
• Oakland

Program Areas of Support include:

• Education - Identifies the educational challenges facing Black boys from birth through college including high dropout and suspension rates and low college participation
• Employment & Economic Sustainability - Identifies strategies to create new jobs, increase current living wages to meet basic quality-of-life standards, promote skill and professional development, and address barriers to accessing employment and legitimate income- and asset-building opportunities
• Criminal Justice - Identifies efforts designed to change policies that facilitate the disproportionate imprisonment of Black men and boys, and that support the civil and human rights struggle of former prisoners as they re-enter communities
• Fatherhood Support - Identifies efforts that promote rather than punish fathers seeking to be engaged and/or reunited with their families
• Health - Addresses the pressing issues of health, including the prevalence of life-threatening and chronic disease, untreated and under-diagnosed mental illness, violence, and the limited access to appropriate and sufficient health care
  

Next Steps

• Identify and/or help us convene people who share a concern and can help support Black men and boys programs
• Provide introductions for 21CF to individuals, business groups, and organizations/corporations
• Host a donor event, forum or convening
• Help us articulate a public message related to black men and boys
• Contact the Foundation about opportunities for leverage grantmaking that supports systemic change for Black men and boys

Community Returns: Investing in Black Men and Boys Report Summary

For more information, or to request a full copy of the report, contact John Vaughn, Program Director at jvaughn@21cf.org.