In honor of Black History Month, Pledge would like to highlight several organizations that use our platform to help achieve their missions and goals for causes that matter in Black communities. From education to women’s health, there is a cause for everyone to support this month and beyond.
Nonprofits to Support:
Streetcode is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2014 to equip marginalized students with the necessary education, access and mindset to help close the digital gap among communities of color.
Through their free programs such as their Level Up Initiative, they have been able to help provide local Bay area families in need with rental computers for work, school, or connection purposes. Over 9,000 families in San Mateo County have no access to computers at all and nearly half are Black or Latino. Ultimately, Streetcode Academy hopes to reach more communities so that their efforts will leave a lasting impact for future generations to come in the tech industry.
Black Outside is a nonprofit organization in San Antonio, Texas founded in 2019 by Alex Bailey who aims to connect Black youth to the outdoors through programming to help them engage in safe and equitable outdoor spaces. His passion for the outdoors led him to the idea of shaping outdoor spaces into an empowering experience for the Black youth community.
The organization has three core values: Explore Self, Explore Culture, and Explore Outdoors which all factor into the experience of bringing meaningful opportunities to youth camps through interacting in outdoor environments. Through their impact, they have two key programs: Charles Roundtree Bloom Project and Camp Founder Girls which have helped uplift many Black youth in various circumstances.
The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness
The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness is a nonprofit based in Wisconsin, founded in 2012 by Lisa Peyton-Care with the mission to allow Black women, their families and communities to have equitable access to healthcare to improve their overall lives. After losing her mother, Lisa was inspired to create Black Women’s Wellness Day in 2008 which then transformed into a health summit and later the foundation as it exists today.
Some of the core programs within the Black Womens Wellness Foundation include: Health Promotion & Education, Policy, Advocacy & Research, Saving Our Babies and Well Black Women Institute. By educating Black women on important health risks, they are able to help women recognize issues that directly affect their everyday lives and uplift others in their communities. Through these programs, the organization continues to drive education, advocacy, and support to improve the wellbeing of Black women in all communities.
Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation
This nonprofit organization was founded in 2018 by actress Taraji P. Henson and is led by Executive Director, Tracie Jade Jenkins. The foundation is named after Ms. Henson’s father, Boris Lawrence Henson, who suffered with mental health challenges as a result of serving during the Vietnam War. They aim to change the perception of mental illness in the Black community by encouraging those who struggle to get the help they need. Today, as 1 in 5 Americans suffer from mental illness, Black Americans are the least likely to seek treatment due to common societal misperceptions and mistrust with the medical community as a whole.
Through the organization’s work, they support competency in caring for African Americans who struggle with mental illness by providing scholarships to African-American students who seek a career in the mental health field; offer mental health services and programs to young people in urban schools; and combat recidivism within the prison system.
You can donate to The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation by texting NOSTIGMA to 707070.
This Atlanta based nonprofit organization has a long history of support from the Fulton County Arts Council since its founding in 1987 to support its mission to offer renowned programs in arts and education in multiple disciplines for artists of African descent globally. Their impact has been viewed from audiences nationally and internationally for their accomplished performances, from artists such as Maya Angelou, The O’Jays, Spike Lee and Cicely Tyson.
The organization’s other key mission is to inspire young and rising Black artists through their programs: Move/Dance! Program, NextGen Artist and Fashion Forward. By having these programs, Black youth are able to discover their creative potential through fostering new talents as future artists in the industry.
Feeling inspired? Support these Fundraisers today:
Gloria Das, also known as “Mama D,” was always known for her having her red lipstick no matter the occasion. She would constantly document her red lipstick chronicles on her daughter’s page to spread joy among communities. She recently lost her 14-year battle against Alzheimer's. Her daughter, former music executive and founder of Silence the Shame, Shanti Das is honoring her mother’s life through a fundraiser benefiting the National Alzheimer’s Association.
Founded by artist-activist Harry Belafonte, Sankofa.org is a social justice organization whose mission is to spread awareness to issues of injustice and grassroost causes. In honor of Harry Belefonte’s 95th birthday and the 10th anniversary of Sankofa.org, proceeds are being raised through Pledge to support their programs. Through their impact, they aim to help collaborate with youth, educate peers in their communities, and broaden their understanding in the political process to prepare them to help make a difference in future leadership.
Do you know an organization that supports Black communities and wants to scale their fundraising efforts? Learn more here about the award-winning fundraising products we offer (for free!) to all nonprofits To get started, simply Claim Your Nonprofit today.
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