CZI Joins Other Funders to Support Launch of $100 Million California Black Freedom Fund

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative joined with philanthropic organizations and funders to announce the launch of the California Black Freedom Fund, a new $100 million initiative dedicated to Black power-building and organizing in California. This first-of-its-kind fund is co-created with Black leaders and organizers to ensure that California’s growing ecosystem of locally rooted Black-led organizing efforts have the sustained investments and resources they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism.

“Building a better future for everyone starts with centering those who have been politically, socially, and economically marginalized,” said Priscilla Chan, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. “We support the California Black Freedom Fund and its work to ensure that Black-led organizations and movements have the power, resources, and recognition to continue their missions and make racial equity a reality in California.”

Over the next five years, the California Black Freedom Fund will strategically increase the resources available to Black-led organizations throughout California through grantmaking and capacity building support. In its first round of grantmaking, the California Black Freedom Fund is investing over $6 million to support the following organizations:

Black Census and Redistricting Hub – A network of over 30 Black-led and Black-serving organizations maximizing participation in the census and redistricting process among hard to count Black communities. 

Black Equity Collective – A community-public-private partnership strengthening the long-term capacity and infrastructure of Black-led and Black-empowering social justice organizations in Southern California (Los Angeles County and Inland Empire).

PICO California: Live Free/ Bring the HEAT – Organizing intervention to protect the basic health, safety, and well-being of all people by demanding a series of immediate and sweeping changes to the current policing system in the United States. 

Three rounds of grantmaking are anticipated in 2021 to reach a wide and diverse set of Black-led organizations across the state, with the next round of grantmaking anticipated in late February 2021. Learn more at CABlackFreedomFund.org. 

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About the California Black Freedom Fund:

The California Black Freedom Fund (CBFF) is a five-year, $100 million initiative to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations have the sustained investments and support they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism. Learn more: CABlackFreedomFund.org

About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Founded by Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is a new kind of philanthropy that’s leveraging technology to help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease, to improving education, to reforming the criminal justice system. Across our issue areas, we’re pairing engineering with grant-making, impact investing, and policy and advocacy work to help build an inclusive, just and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit chanzuckerberg.com.