KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A weeklong fundraiser to benefit organizations doing grassroots work in the Kansas City-area Black community already is halfway toward its goal.
The second annual Give Black KC event, which kicked off Monday, hopes to raise $80,000. At the end of the week, eight groups will receive $10,000 each.
Brandon Calloway, executive director of G.I.F.T., Generating Income For Tomorrow, helped identify groups that will receive the funding:
- The Nia Project
- The Greenline Initiative
- WeCodeKC
- Soulcentricitea
- Life's Work Counseling and Consulting
- UrbnHub
- REAP
- G.I.F.T.
"If we can impact food access, housing and income, employment and digital connectivity all at the same time, it'll have a massive impact on the community," Calloway said.
With that money, G.I.F.T. will be able to award another grant to a Black-owned business.
"When a community has jobs, it decreases poverty, which decreases poverty-related crimes and helps the community thrive," Calloway said. "It helps the community become more safe and more economically viable."
The Nia Project also is a part of the coalition, focusing on health and wellness for Black women and girls.
Every year, they host Black Women Get Fit, a one-day convention full of fitness classes and resources. The two dozen-plus practitioners who own their own businesses have an opportunity to grow their client base, while participants learn about their health.
"Just the opportunity to have space for us, with the music we like to do, some of the topics that are important to us, it was an entire morning that it was all about us," Terri Barnes, founder of The Nia Project, said. "It was a realization for us that this was a real need in our community."
With $10,000, The Nia Project will be able to make that event, and others, bigger and better.
"We'd be able to buy more marketing, offer more incentives to women who complete the program, we'd be able to offer more things that get them excited about continuing to keep their health and wellness in front of them year-round," Barnes said.
Give Black KC will conclude with Juneteenth celebrations this weekend.
"Juneteenth is a great time to remind people there is action that still needs to be taken," Calloway said. "If you pledged to take some action and forgot about it, it's never too late."
Alive and Well is another coordinating agency.
For more information, or to donate to Give Black KC, visit the Give Black KC website.
