Give Black campaign returns, aiming to recapture energy needed to close racial wealth gap

The 2023 Give Black KC campaign kicked off Monday, beginning the annual week of fundraising efforts focused on supporting Black-led nonprofits in Kansas City in an effort to achieve racial equity.

This year’s fundraiser will benefit four organizations: Be Great Together, Front Porch Alliance, WeCode KC, and Kansas City G.I.F.T.

Brandon Calloway, Kansas City G.I.F.T., speaks with Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News, during a kickoff event for the 2023 Give Black campaign; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Brandon Calloway, CEO and co-founder of Kansas City G.I.F.T., explained how each organization fills a critical — and unique — role in working to close the racial wealth gap in Kansas City.

“Our overall goal is closing Kansas City’s racial wealth gap, and our vehicle [at G.I.F.T.] for doing that is entrepreneurship,” Calloway said during a kickoff event with Startland News at Spark Kansas City. “But, there are other organizations out there that are using education as the vehicle, or workforce development as the vehicle, and we all need to grow together. We all need to be able to do what we do at a larger scale, because there’s no one thing that’s the solution.”

Scaling a Black-led, Black-focused nonprofit can be challenging, Calloway added, while also noting a specific need for such organizations in the local community.

“We certainly want to put energy into helping new grassroots organizations grow, but we also know that for Black-led nonprofits, when they reach a certain point of success, it’s kind of hard to break through to that next level where they’re able to have some substantial impact,” Calloway said. “That’s what we need here, specifically in Kansas City.”

The weeklong fundraiser — which began as a one-day fundraiser in 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s murder — leads up to the Juneteenth holiday. Donations can be made online through the Give Black KC website or by texting “Give Black 23” to 44321.

Click here to make a donation.

Four orgs driving change

Each of the four nonprofit organizations benefiting from the 2023 Give Black campaign focuses its efforts on providing resources and creating opportunities for underserved and marginalized communities in Kansas City.

Ja T’aime Taylor, Front Porch Alliance, speaks alongside Give Black KC organizers and fellow recipients during a campaign kickoff event with Startland News at Spark Coworking; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Front Porch Alliance serves the east side of Kansas City, Missouri — “from womb to eldership,” said Ja T’aime Taylor, executive director.

The organization’s programming includes a home visiting program that helps parents prepare their children for kindergarten as they meet developmental milestones; a program for youth ages 5 to 17 that focuses on six STEAM initiatives; a reproductive health care class led by Black and Brown women; and a minor home repair program that allows elders to age in place.

“We like to amplify the east side community, because we believe the strengths are already here in the community,” Taylor said.

Be Great Together partners with Kansas City Public Schools and Center School District to provide funding for K-12 programs, initiatives, and ideas submitted by teachers and students, said Avrell Stokes, executive director.

The winning student and teacher proposals earn funding, as well as a year of technical assistance and programming, Stokes said.

“We really focus on sustainability and structure, so that means connecting them with the right community partners,” Stokes said. “We always say our key focus is to empower teachers in their leadership, and inspire students to become the leaders who they are.”

Ja T’aime Taylor, Front Porch Alliance, and Tammy Buckner, WeCode KC; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

WeCode KC provides youth from the urban core with the opportunity to learn high-tech skills such as coding, machine learning, virtual reality, and AI, according to CEO and co-founder Tammy Buckner.

In doing so, the organization hopes to create a pipeline of future-ready professionals who possess valuable skills without being forced to pay college tuition, Buckner said.

“We are dedicated to creating an inclusive and equitable tech industry by providing resources and skills to young adults and kids from underrecognized communities,” Buckner said. “They learn these tech skills to go directly into the workforce, and more importantly, they do not have to go to college. They can get directly into the workforce using technology.”

Avrell Stokes, Be Great Together, and Brandon Calloway, Kansas City G.I.F.T.; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Maximum momentum needed

In addition to individual donations, the Give Black KC campaign is planning the GIFTed Chef Experience Thursday, June 15 at Children’s Mercy Park.

The event is set to feature a three-course meal, live Caribbean music, and a silent auction. All proceeds will benefit the four organizations.

Click here to purchase tickets or sponsor the event.

Give Black KC hopes to at minimum match the $125,000 raised in 2021, the first year the fundraiser lasted for an entire week, Calloway said.

Now in its fourth year, Calloway acknowledged, the annual fundraiser seemed to have lost momentum in recent years as American society has moved past what he termed “the George Floyd era.”

“One of the things that we’ve found is that the further away we get from the George Floyd era, the lower the appetite has become for supporting things that are Black-led,” Calloway said. “There is not that same energy that there was in 2020, or 2021, or 2022. We’re hoping that we can spark that again, and remind people of that energy they had.”