For over 20 years I have served “faces like mine” in advancement, particularly in alumni fundraising. For many of those years, I thought my constituents were just recipients of charitable giving, which seemed to be the consensus. 

But African Americans have always been philanthropic. It took the 2012 Kellogg Foundation study Cultures of Giving: Energizing and Expanding Philanthropy by and for Communities of Color to correctly highlight the philanthropic nature of my community. That study argues that African Americans give larger shares of their income to charity than any other group – $11 billion annually, representing 25% more than white donors.

Philanthropy in America is commonly associated with wealthy white men. But “faces like mine” don’t only give to churches; they give transformational gifts. For example:

• Bernard and Shirley Kinsey established the Kinsey Collection, a large collection of historical African American artifacts that toured the country, hosted by Wells Fargo, raising millions for historically black colleges and universities, including their alma mater, Florida A&M.
• Eddie and Sylvia Brown of Baltimore granted $6 million to Maryland Institute, College of Art (MICA).

Public opinion that philanthropy only relates to the wealthy must be changed. We must redefine philanthropy and how blacks give back.

The legacy of slavery, the failed promise of the Reconstruction era, redlining, lending discrimination, and past and continuing housing inequality have erected barriers to wealth accumulation. Yet, blacks give at higher rate despite the $20,000 income gap between them and whites. Philanthropy doesn’t do a good job with diversity. In Washington, D.C., with a majority black population:

• 82% of nonprofit CEOs are white.
• 92% of foundation presidents are white.
• 86% of nonprofit board members are white.

Therefore, the philanthropic potential of the black community is underestimated. It is our duty to future generations to develop strategies that promote black community wealth and asset creation by:

• promoting community economic development; 
• passing anti-discrimination policies; and
• supporting low-income workers who are disproportionately African American. 

Through advocating for black communities, we can remove the blinders and increase charitable giving to causes that are dear to “faces like mine,” such as the fights against AIDS in Africa and against toxic pollution affecting minority communities, for example.

What a great start! Let’s do it!