San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Advocacy group expands reach of Survival Fund
NEW YORK — The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is formally expanding a $3 million financial relief fund that it began this month to help people struggling to make ends meet during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The foundation, which grew out of the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement nearly eight years ago, said last week that it plans to make up to 3,000 microgrants of $1,000 each to people who it believes need it most. The BLM foundation already has begun asking recipients to apply for the Survival Fund grants as it builds out its philanthropic arm.
If approved, the money is deposited directly into recipients’ bank accounts or made available on prepaid debit cards, the foundation said — no strings attached.
“This came from a collective conversation with BLM leadership that Black folks are being hurt the most financially during the pandemic,” said BLM cofounder Patrisse Cullors. “I believe that when you have resources, to hoard them is a disservice to the people who deserve them.”
The foundation reported the response has been overwhelming and it is no longer accepting applications for the initial round of the fund.
Cullors, the foundation’s executive director, said the first recipients have included the families of people killed by police or who died while incarcerated, grassroots community organizers, people who identify as transgender, single parents and formerly incarcerated individuals.
At least 300 people have been approved for grants. The fund is being administered through UpTogether, a project of the Family Independence Initiative, which works to disrupt the cycle of poverty through direct investment to lowincome families and budding entrepreneurs.
One Survival Fund recipient, Kusema Thomas, said he has been earning $1,500 less in monthly income since the start of the pandemic. The 45yearold Los Angeles resident and father of two sons had been working as a community organizer and mental health specialist at a shelter for youth victims of domestic violence. His hours were cut back due to the pandemic.
Thomas, who was also formerly incarcerated, said when the $1,000 grant showed up, he said it reminded him of the value of communities collectively pooling resources to bring relief to their own.
“It reinforces some of the things that have just been natural to us as a community,” Thomas said. “It’s a point of pride. ... It’s how we show love.”