OKC Black Justice Fund awards nearly $300K in grants

The OKC Black Justice Fund announced Wednesday that it has awarded 17 grants totaling $293,000 to Black-led organizations seeking to advance racial equality in Oklahoma City.

The fund, which partners with the Communities Foundation of Oklahoma, was launched in June with a $ 50,000 donation from the Arnall Family Foundation in response to "systemic racial injustice experienced by the Black community in Oklahoma City."

A 12- member committee, which included members of the Black community, donors and nonprofit leaders, began evaluating applications in August. The committee received 68 requests from 66 organizations, 60 of which were Black-led, according to a news release.

"The evaluation process helped highlight that there are many people doing very extensive and necessary work in the Black community towards racial justice ," Tania L. Smith, a member of the fund's evaluation committee, said in the release. "I was impressed by the applications from both established and grassroots organizations that are newer or lesser known. I hope that we continue to see support and funding for these organizations at every level."

Grant recipient Northeast OKC Renaissance intends to use its $50,000 award to provide "sustainable real estate and s mall business development programming a nd funding designed to empower and equip Black residents and stakeholders in Northeast Oklahoma City," according to the release.

The organization seeks to overcome generations of "intentional suppression" by engaging community members as real estate developers, business owners and job creators by implementing proven training models, connecting participating developers to a network of aspiring homeowners and increasing access to capital, the release states.

Other grant recipients include Opportunities Industrialization Center of Oklahoma County ($50,000), Shiloh Camp ($34,500), and the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City ( $ 33, 000), according to the fund's website. For more information about the OKC Black Justice Fund, any of the applicants or opportunities f or addi - tional investment, please visit BlackJusticeFund.org.