As the fourth principle of the Divestment method states:
Divestment is about what we can give, not what we can get. 

The goal of divestment is a meaningful shift in who controls the majority of the world’s wealth. This is why Community Ready Corps created the Black Solidarity Fund, as an answer to the question: how do I actually give up decision-making power when I’m returning stolen wealth? By divesting wealth to the Black Solidarity Fund, white anti-racists also divest decision-making power, allowing Black leadership to decide how to best invest funds towards the development of Black self determination.

What is the Black Solidarity Fund?

The Black Solidarity Fund (BSF) is the first Black-led fund of its kind nationally. Through this Fund, CRC resources and supports Black organizations and incubates and mentors emerging Black leaders and new organizations. See more about CRC and the Black Solidarity Fund’s impact in CRC’s 2020-2023 Impact Report here.

The BSF is a unique and effective alternative to philanthropy: it acts like a foundation in the sense that it redistributes funds to a broad network of organizations working nationally and internationally toward the same vision. But it differs from traditional philanthropy in how it operates:

• Led by a grassroots organization

• Builds collaboration and solidarity by funding many Black-led organizations working toward the same vision

• Accessible to the most disenfranchised people because we have deep relationships within disenfranchised communities

• Funds projects earlier: before a project has fiscal sponsorship, a budget, grant writing abilities, connections to funders, a “proven track record”, etc.

• Offers effective, culturally relevant mentorship and support

Why did CRC establish the Black Solidarity Fund?

Traditional philanthropy underfunds Black-led organizing, pits Black organizations against each other for limited funding, isn’t accessible to the most disenfranchised, and doesn’t fund power building. With the Black Solidarity Fund, we are creating an effective alternative to build Black solidarity and work toward actualizing Black self-determination. Our work is grounded in the Black Solidarity Process, a community wide vision for Black self-determination that was created through an extensive engagement process with hundreds of diverse Black community members.