Our Work
On this page you can navigate through our foundational pillars and explore the diverse forms of movement work we are co-imagining, designing, and investing in.
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Arts
We are concentrating on the nexus of art and activism in pursuit of Black liberation and the preservation and protection of Black creativity.
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Culture
We are uplifting Black culture that propels us to dream big and create the community we want and need to flourish, grow, and thrive.
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Frontline Organizing
We are helping to keep frontline organizers safe and we are partnering with on-the-ground leaders and organizations at the local level that center abolitionist principals and are building radical Black organizing models rooted in Black power, self-determination and support of system impacted families.
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Healing Justice
We are building healing spaces and nurturing ecosystems that support Black communities impacted by oppressive structures and injustice.
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Policy
We are intervening on existing and new policies that reimagine a world without punitive measures and create a world where Black people have all that we need: food, education, housing, health care, clean water, breathable air, and everything that is foundational to personal and community safety.
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Research & Education
We are investing in modern-day research and education focusing on abolitionist frameworks and curriculum around Black history, identity, and Black futures.
Our Grantees
Victories So Far
$35 Million Dollars Invested in the Black Movement
We have given more than $35 million dollars toward the sustenance of Black communities and Black movement building.
Thousands of PPE Masks Distributed Directly to Our Communities in Need
We distributed thousands of PPE masks to support protests and families in one of our cities with a high population of Black people being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Over $130K Dollars Disseminated Directly to Black Community Members During COVID-19
Black Lives Matter-Canada launched a COVID Support Fund with particular emphasis on supporting LGBTQ+, disabled, or migrant people. Fundraising over $130K, the chapter disseminated onetime stipends of $125 – $250 to Black community members in need.
LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY
We’ve invested dollars and time in advocating for policies that benefit Black people.
Three top priorities are our work to support:
- The People’s Response Act, a critical piece of legislation that seeks to redefine how we respond to crises and emergencies, invests in community care, and deprioritizes the carceral system. Our ongoing fight to End Qualified Immunity is a testament to our commitment to dismantling oppressive systems that shield those who perpetrate harm. We will not rest until justice is served.
- Student Debt Cancellation, a critical step to recognizing the burden student debt places on Black individuals and communities striving for education and economic empowerment.
- Reparations, which remain central to our mission, as it addresses the historical and ongoing injustices upon which this country was built and that have and continue to marginalize Black communities.
We Nominated 30 Black and LGBTQ+-Led Community Organizations to Receive Six Figure Grants
In 2020, we selected 30 local organizations (not part of our grassroots apparatus) to be our first cohort of official BLM Foundation grantees. As several communities were thrown into heightened political, socioeconomic, and medical vulnerabilities by COVID-19, BLM Foundation sought to ensure the survival of some of society’s most vulnerable persons: Black LGBTQ+ folks. Of the 30 organizations selected, 23 are led by Black LGBTQ+ folks and/or directly serve Black LGBTQ+ communities in places like Chicago, New York, New Jersey, DC, and Alabama. Please find a list of our grantee organizations below. We have committed a six figure grant to each of these organizations.
- Africans Rising
- Audre Lorde Project-Trans Justice
- Black Trans Circles
- Black Trans Femmes in the Arts
- Black Trans Media
- Black Trans Travel Fund
- Black Visions Collection
- BLMP
- BOLD
- Brave Space Alliance
- BreakOUT
- Brooklyn Boihood
- BYP100
- Eat Chicago
- For the Gworls
- Haitian Bridge Alliance
- Highlander Center
- Homeless Black Trans Women Fund
- House of GG
- House of Pentacles
- House of TULIP
- Marsha P. Johnson Institute
- The Okra Project
- PANA
- Solutions Not Punishment Coalition
- T.A.K.E Justice Project
- TGI Justice Project
- The Transgender District
- Trans Housing Coalition
- Trans Justice Funding Project
- Trans United
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