BPI Announces Impact Grant Recipients during Black Philanthropy Month

In celebration of August’s Black Philanthropy Month, The Black Philanthropy Initiative (BPI) is excited to announce $6,000 in six grants awarded through its Impact Grants program.  

BPI’s Impact Grants are investments in programs, projects, and initiatives supporting Forsyth County’s Black communities; grantees are local groups and organizations with annual budgets under $150,000. During this grant cycle, BPI requested video proposals from organizations or groups working in one of the four critical areas: education, jobs and wages, poverty, and civic engagement, or on criminal justice reform or racial justice efforts. BPI prioritized Black-led organizations and programs working within predominately Black neighborhoods (including 27101, 27105, and 27107).

Impact Grants were awarded to:  

• I.C.A.R.E. (Individuals Caring About Rehabilitation and Education): $1,000 to provide essential items to those experiencing homelessness in local neighborhoods
• ‍One Love Strong Foundation: $1,000 for marketing and educational materials for families to help reduce pre-term births, hospital readmission, and infant mortality
• ‍Partnership for Prosperity: $1,000 to provide stipends to youth ambassadors in the Castle Heights community ‍
• The Speech Bus, Inc.: $1,000 to support a website for a literacy program for preschool children and a communication device for nonverbal participants ‍
• Tiny Creators: $1,000 to teach life skills and provide enrichment activities for young girls ‍
• WISE Fellowship: $1,000 for a laptop and speaker system for a mobile reading program

Robert Leak III, chair of BPI’s Grants Committee says that awarding these grants during August's Black Philanthropy Month is even more gratifying. He notes, “We're excited to invest in smaller, Black-led groups and organizations that are making a big impact in their neighborhoods through a wide range of creative programming.”

BPI’s grants are made possible by the collective pooling of resources from the generous people of Forsyth County to invest in Black-led organizations and support the local Black community. In 2021, BPI provided over $220,000 in grants to local programs and initiatives. Currently, BPI offers three grant programs: Impact Grants, Building and Inclusive Economy, and Advancing Equity in Education Grants. To learn more about these grant programs and find ways to contribute to this work, visit bpiws.org.

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