Canada Commits $200 Million for ‘Black-Led,’ Black-Focused,’ ‘Black-Serving’ Organizations to Fight ‘Racism’

The Canadian government announced its launching of a $200 million (CAD) endowment fund for “black-focused,” “black-led,” and “black-serving” organizations on Monday.

In the federal government’s solicitation of proposals from organizations seeking to become the administrator of its forthcoming “Black-Led Philanthropic Endowment Fund,” it applied the left-wing stylistic capitalization of “black,” partly popularized by the Associated Press.

The $200 million fund, according to the federal government, is intended “to reduce anti-Black racism and improve social and economic outcomes in Black communities.”

The Canadian government added:

The investment income will provide funding to Black-led, Black-focused and Black-serving non-profit organizations and registered charities across the country. It will apply a Black-centric and intersectional lens to its operations and granting strategy to ensure that they reflect and benefit the full diversity of Black communities.

The eligibility criteria for organizations seeking to secure the open position to administer the $200 million fund include a racial dimension for people who “self-identify as Black.” The federal government’s solicitation states eligible applicants must be:

• Black-led: a minimum of 2/3 of the leadership positions, across all levels of your organization’s management and governance, are held by people who self-identify as Black, and
• Black-serving: An organization for whom Black communities are an important or the main beneficiary group

Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal MP for London West, framed the $200 million plan as a tool to “combat systemic racism and hate” and “advance social and economic equity.”

Kayabaga did not provide specific metrics against which the program’s efficacy would be graded in evaluating its ostensible objectives. She remarked:

Our government has committed almost half a billion dollars to support black communities and address systemic discrimination in the areas of business, justice, health, and in nonprofit organizations.

…

We will continue to do this work until all Canadians, including black Canadians, can equitably fully participate in the economic, social, and political institutions of this country.

The racially targeted government program will help “create a more just and equitable society,” Ahmed Hussen, Liberal MP for South-Weston and minister of housing and diversity and inclusion, said on Monday.

Hussen said the $200 million project “is truly black-led” and “is for black Canadians, by black Canadians.”

Follow Robert Kraychik on Twitter @rkraychik.