By Selma Moreira & Fernanda Lopes
The relationship between the black population and philanthropy is ancient, with the greatest expression being the Black Brotherhoods. Created during the colonial period, these organizational structures enabled black people to occupy and define forms of social action, to cover expenses for a minimum standard of dignity, funerals, for example. They were spaces of resistance and solidarity in the face of the hostility imposed by slavery. Currently, of the 207.8 million who reside in Brazil, 46.5% declared themselves mixed race, 9.3% black and 43.1% white.
Furthermore, the population contingent is significant, the historical accumulation of income and inequality of opportunities has resulted in an economic and socio-racial abyss between black and indigenous people and others. Social indicators of education, housing conditions, political participation, employment and income all, without exception, express inequality in the distribution of power and highlight the structuring role of racism in the economic, political and symbolic organization of society. The philanthropic actions undertaken by non-black organizations in Brazilian civil society, until recently, sought to alleviate the adverse conditions in the lives of those who needed to eat, have clothes, shelter, and also have spiritual comfort, were restricted to welfare and maintenance of the status quo for beneficiaries. It is no coincidence that the relationship between the black population and philanthropy mainstreaming it occupies a space characterized by multiple and differentiated levels of complexity, as it coexists with structural racism. At the beginning of the 90s, black Brazilian women's organizations established partnerships with international philanthropic foundations that worked in the field of gender equality, financing actions focused on recognizing and guaranteeing women's human rights.
The 2000s introduced new scenarios for national philanthropy, during which the first philanthropic funds for social justice were created. And at the end of the first decade, a new way of doing philanthropy gained strength, characterized by the voluntary transfer of private resources in a planned, monitored and systematic way, to social, environmental and cultural projects of public interest. This concept, called private social investment, incorporates a strategy aimed at sustainable results of impact and social transformation and emphasizes the involvement of the community in the development of the action. Donors see themselves and are seen, as investors, not in an economic sense, but in a social one: society must change and profit in terms of benefits. In parallel, on the international scene, a process of evaluating the impact of philanthropy to alleviate and eradicate the effects of social inequalities began and it was concluded that, although many changes had been achieved, there were groups that, systematically, followed deprived of power and real opportunities to develop their full potential due to their ethnic, racial or cultural origin. Leading this movement was the Kellogg Foundation which, in Brazil, after different processes of active listening to leaders of the Brazilian black movement and researchers, committed to supporting the creation of the first fund dedicated exclusively to the promotion of racial equity for the black population in Brazil , whose own assets, when constituted, were the largest outside the United States.
O Baobab Fund was born to raise resources and invest in the strengthening of black people and organizations, focused on promoting racial equity, as well as constituting its endowment, powered by match fund. Currently, WKKF contributes 3 times the amount raised in Brazil and twice the amount raised in another country. From 2014 to 2019, the Baobab Fund has already invested around 10.2 million reais in initiatives and impacted around 100,000 lives across the country. In recent years, the private sector has invested in promoting diversity but has not necessarily contributed to promoting equity. In this sense, building a culture of donation to the cause of racial equity in Brazil is a challenge taken on by Baobab Fund which will impact the philanthropy ecosystem seeking to mobilize and engage different actors willing to reduce the effects of inequalities and intervene in causes seeking solutions and strategies to achieve equity.
MacArthur Foundation scholarship holder in the training program for black researchers at the Brazilian Planning Center, CEBRAP.
Co-Author: Selma Moreira – Executive Director at Baobá – Fund for Racial Equity, the first and only fund dedicated exclusively to promoting racial equity for the black population in Brazil. He also served as Social Responsibility Manager at the Walmart Institute, Sustainability Manager at Fundação Alphaville and Project Manager at the Technological Incubator of Popular Cooperatives at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (ITCP – FGV). She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Coca-Cola Brazil Institute and the General Assembly of Greenpeace Brazil. She has a degree in Business Administration from Fundação Instituto Tecnológico de Osasco, a postgraduate degree in Strategic Management in Organizational Communication and Public Relations, from the School of Communication and Arts at USP, and an MBA in Management and Social Entrepreneurship, from FIA. In recent years, his focus has been to deepen academic knowledge about the history of the black population.
* Originally published at: https://www.alliancemagazine.org/feature/philanthropy-yes-but-philanthropy-for-racial-equity/
