In 1983, the Hall Family Foundation founded the Black Community Fund (BCF). Established with a mission to provide support and leadership to enhance the socio-economic well-being of African-American communities in the Greater Kansas City area, BCF strives to be the foremost thought leader driving positive community change through stewardship, leadership, philanthropy and education.
Having awarded more than $4 million to more than 200 local nonprofit organizations, it is managed by a board of directors and in 2023, BCF added its first full-time executive director, NaTika Rowles. Community Builders of Kansas City (CBKC) President and CEO Emmet Pierson, Jr. was a previous board chair and served on the BCF board for over 12 years.
“The cool thing about this job is that it’s a vehicle for a wide range of impact and change in the Black community,” Rowles said. “There are many things we do, but our main pillars are education, by providing scholarships to promote access to higher education for Black students, grants to nonprofits serving the Black community, convening to provide awareness and discussion of Black issues and mobilizing the Black public to be philanthropic.”
Launched in 2010, BCF’s scholarship program has awarded a total of $1 million dollars to local students. Each scholarship is a minimum of $5,000 and recipients must complete 16 hours of community service. Currently, BCF has funded 218 scholars at 70 different U.S. institutions from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to Ivy Leagues. To mark its 40th anniversary in 2023, the organization awarded 40 scholarships at a gala that featured Soledad O’Brien, award winning journalist, former “Today Show” host and current host of the weekly syndicated political show “Matter of Fact,” as its keynote speaker.
Grant making is another BCF pillar, awarding grants to Black-led, Black-serving nonprofits one or two times a year. During the pandemic, the Black community was hit especially hard, so the organization spontaneously awarded $100,000 without an application process. Grants typically range between $2,500 to $10,000.
“Our third pillar is to be a convener for the community with our biggest event being the Vision Workshop,” said Rowles. “This is something we are proud of because it focuses on Black-led, Black serving nonprofits.”
Focused on capacity building and organizational strength, the all-day workshop equips leaders with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive. It includes a networking luncheon, and the day concludes with guests being allowed to pitch their organization for a BCF grant.
“The other unique thing about this event is that we give participants a $500 stipend for participating since they’re with small organizations that have little to no staff, making it difficult to be away for a day,” explained Rowles.
Three Vision Workshops awarding a total of over $250,000 in grants have occurred since 2022.
BCF convenings expand beyond business topics, seeking to expose the community to various issues, platforms and arts. In December 2023, high school and college students met at the University of Missouri-Kansas City to discuss barriers and needs in continuing education and BCF was able to use data from the session to better serve its scholarship recipients.
BCF was also instrumental in bringing Black Violin, the Grammy-nominated hip hop duo, the Dance Theater of Harlem ballet company and Lawrence Jackson, official White House photographer for former President Barak Obama, to Kansas City. In July for Minority Mental Health month, BCF ran a social media campaign to educate the public on Black male suicide, which is four times the rate of Black females.
BCF’s fifth pillar is mobilizing philanthropy in communities of color. According to a report by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Black households give 25 percent more of their income annually than white households.
“This statistic drives me every day to strive for excellence for this organization,” said Rowles. “I started a ‘Culture of Giving’ podcast that discusses all things Black philanthropy, with conversations that lift up Black voices in hopes that listeners will be inspired to increase their philanthropy in Kansas City and beyond.”
Recent podcast topics have included community development with Dr. Jamee Rodgers of Urban Neighborhood Initiative and affordable housing with Jacqueline Hunter, emergency assistance lead and affordable housing client advocate.
“Anybody can be a philanthropist,” said Rowles. “Whether you give your time, talent or treasure and help a neighbor, stranger or charity, the measure is to just give.”
Black Community Fund is located at 1055 Broadway Blvd., Suite 130, Kansas City, Missouri, 64105. To donate or learn more visit https://www.blackcommunityfund.org/.