Foundation Giving to Aid Black Males Rises Slightly, Report Says

Grant makers are channeling more money to projects explicitly designed to help black men and boys, but those dollars make up a tiny share of overall giving, according to a new study.

The study, Where Do We Go From Here? Philanthropic Support for Black Men and Boys, was financed by the Open Society Foundations, which last year pledged $30-million to a New York City program dedicated to improving opportunities for black males. The report was based on Foundation Center data and a separate survey of 50 grant makers.

Among the study’s findings:

• Foundation dollars explicitly designated to aid black men and boys rose from $22-million in 2008 to $29-million in 2010. That was about 0.1 percent of total foundation giving.
• Education was the main focus of those dollars, receiving 40 percent of total giving.
• Most foundation money to benefit African-American males (87 percent) was designated for specific programs and projects.
• The Ford Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, and the California Endowment were the biggest donors.
• Morehouse College, a historically black institution, and the Twenty-First Century Foundation, a fund to benefit African-Americans, won the largest share of dollars.