The mission of the Black Philanthropy Initiative (BPI) of The Winston-Salem Foundation is to acknowledge and celebrate the traditions of sharing in the Black community and to expand the models of charitable giving through education and engagement.

BPI is led by a committee of African-American volunteers who understand the impact that giving has made in the development of our community.   Goals of the initiative are the following:

• To increase the involvement of the Black community in the distribution of charitable funds. 
• To build bonds across lines of race and class among donors and the groups working to better the community. 
• To increase The Winston-Salem Foundation's capacity to build effective philanthropic relationships with the Black community. 
• To build relationships with Black professional advisors such as accountants, attorneys, financial planners, and investment advisors.

In 2007, the BPI Advisory Committee launched the Black Philanthropy Fund, a fund dedicated to supporting issues that impact the African-American community, with a special focus on education, financial literacy, and parenting and life skills training. 

BPI Announces 2009 Grants

At a February 17, 2010 grants presentation event, leadership from The Winston-Salem Foundation’s Black Philanthropy Initiative announced $17,500 in grants that were awarded from the Black Philanthropy Fund’s second grant cycle.

The focus area for these grants was programming that supports African-Americans in the area of financial literacy.  Grants were awarded to four organizations:

• Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Forsyth County - $5,000 grant will support Money Skills for Life, which will incorporate financial literacy classes for individuals currently enrolled in the Upward Bound program at WSSU.  Four one-half day workshops will include education on financial institutions, long-term savings, personal budgeting, financial planning and credit usage. 
• Darryl Hunt Project for Freedom and Justice (DHPFJ) - $5,000 grant will provide financial literacy training for black men reentering the community from prison. DHPFJ will partner with Mechanics & Farmers Bank to provide Earning, Saving, Spending and Investing workshops. Thirty associates will also receive $100 to open a bank account at the Bank after completing the program.
• Family Services, Inc./Head Start – $5,000 grant will support a series of 12 financial literacy workshops to be held from January through May 2010 at four sites for 320 single African-American parents.  Each workshop will be offered twice for a total of 24 workshops.  Topics include: understanding credit cards/credit card debt, teaching children to save, budgeting, insurance, saving for a new car/new home, becoming financially savvy, setting goals and spending priorities, saving for college, and financial services available in our community.  The program will collaborate with members of the 2008-2009 Leadership Winston-Salem class (and their businesses).
• Grace Presbyterian Church - $2,500 grant will support the Foundations of Wealth program which started in January 2010 in association with Prodigy Capital Management, LLC.  The program will utilize African-American financial professionals in a seminar series for approximately 100 teens and adults.  Goals include increasing basic financial literacy, promoting wealth building strategies, promoting healthy financial habits and cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit. 

Brenda Diggs, who served as 2009 chairman of the Black Philanthropy Initiative, states, “The Black Philanthropy Initiative is proud to be announcing our second round of grants to four very valuable community programs focusing on financial literacy.  This has become a wonderful giving tradition in our African-American community, and we look forward to announcing our third grant cycle later this year.”

The first grant awards from the Black Philanthropy Fund were made in late 2008.  The priority focus area for these grants were programs that support African-Americans in the area of Education.  Grants in the amount of $5,000 were awarded to each of the following five organizations:

• Family Services, Inc.: to support the establishment of a permanent extended day program with a focus in math and science. 
• Forsyth Technical Community College: to enhance the Transitions: Next Steps program to improve the retention and graduation rate of minority males at the community college. 
• North Forsyth High School: to purchase 41 Texas Instrument (TI-41 Silver Edition) graphing calculators to be awarded to student athletes who improve their math grades through required tutoring. 
• Quality Education Academy: for Project STAY, an after school program that focuses on Forsyth County and surrounding area students (ages 13 – 17) who exhibit signs of being at high risk for dropping out of school. 
• YWCA of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County: to purchase an academic skills software program for the Best Choice Center.