Black-led nonprofits didn't see funding boosts promised after 2020's racial reckoning

Black-led nonprofits didn't see funding boosts promised after 2020's racial reckoning New research reveals that financial gains for many Black-led nonprofits after George Floyd’s murder were short-lived By JAMES POLLARD Associated Press April 7, 2026, 9:11 AM NEW YORK -- The racial reckoning that followed George Floyd 's murder in 2020 carried hopes of new support for disproportionately underfunded, Black-led nonprofits . American companies stepped up donations to historically Black colleges and universities. Major climate funders pledged to give more toward minority groups . Large donors sought to narrow the racial wealth gap. But new research released Tuesday shows that such financial gains for many Black-led nonprofits were short-lived, if they happened at all. A subset of large, Black-led nonprofits saw only temporary funding increases between 2020 and 2022, according to the analysis by nonprofit research service Candid and Black philanthropy group ABFE. Smaller organizations saw no significant change. The pattern of disinvestment put many community groups at a greater disadvantage when President Donald Trump’s policies curtailed funding for diversity, equity and inclusion . The nonprofit sector's struggles deepened as the administration threatened a range of social service programs, left future grants uncertain by cutting agency staff and chilled racial justice funding through anti-DEI executive orders . Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright noted these community nonprofits are the same ones now tasked with helping more and more low-income families deal with spiking healthcare costs and rising food prices . “We're literally being asked to do more with less resources,” Albright told The Associated Press. Small, Black-led nonprofits tended to have to rely on new rather than continuing funders, losing out on transformational relationships that sustain their longer-term goals and cushion them through challenging periods. These small organizations — those wi...