Inclusive Impact

My Black Philanthropy Month Story

As we near the end of Black Philanthropy Month, Dr. Angela Jackson shares a deep reflection of her journey to philanthropy.

August 27, 2020

As Black Philanthropy Month(BPM) comes to an end and we ramp up our #InclusiveImpact Digital Dialogue Series, Dr. Angela Jackson, a New Profit Partner and the lead of our Future of Work initiative, has shared a powerful reflection of her journey into philanthropy.

BPM, observed every August and created by Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland and the Pan-African Women’s Philanthropy Network (PAWPNet), is a global celebration and concerted campaign to elevate African-descent giving.

In her piece, Dr. Angela Jackson shares a powerful reflection on her personal journey, which led her to social impact work. She interrogates the reality that is the lack of Black and Brown people in the world of philanthropy.

The year was 2008, and I had just launched my first social venture, the Global Language Project (GLP). I didn’t think I was doing anything radical by being a woman of color who founded an organization that inspired students in my community of Harlem, New York to become global citizens. After a successful international career in the private sector, I thought surely that my lived experience, work abroad, and track record of success would translate into a meaningful social venture.

I didn’t know that — due to my race and gender — statistics predicted my new venture would operate sub-scale and remain underfunded compared to organizations led by my white peers. I didn’t know that while nonprofits often support people of color, their leadership is 90 percent white.

— Dr. Angela Jackson, New Profit Partner

Dr. Jackson’s story is powerful and all too familiar. Check out the full article to read more about what you can do about it. Dr. Jackson offers a few steps for what we all can take to move beyond just learning about the lived reality that is faced by entrepreneurs and funders of color, and into action.