“Amid an unprecedented national reckoning on racial justice, The Libra Foundation has rallied foundations from across the country to establish the Democracy Frontlines Fund, a new initiative to provide sustained support to frontline Black activists leading the movement to end systemic racism,” the foundation’s announcement said. In addition to The Schmidt Family Foundation, funding partners include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, among others.
The announcement goes on to say:
The Democracy Frontlines Fund disrupts traditional grantmaking to Black communities by replacing short-term, administratively burdensome giving with sustaining, unrestricted, multi-year support. This new design will bolster Black activists as they take on the civil rights challenges of our time. Democracy Frontlines Fund grantees have created a network of trusted voices in communities that are training the leaders and building the vision for our collective future.
“For too long, communities of color have been marginalized and silenced in pursuit of their most fundamental rights,” said Joe Sciortino, executive director of The Schmidt Family Foundation. “Now is the time for philanthropy to increase their support of frontline Black organizations and communities and to recognize that doing so is critical to their own missions.”