Philanthropy and the Black Church:
A Necessary Collaborative

Join the Center for the Church and the Black Experience and the Lake Institute for Faith & Giving as we explore contemporary philanthropy in a time of reckoning about race. Studies conducted over the past decade have revealed significant disparities in philanthropic funding along racial lines, with white-led organizations receiving proportionately more dollars and larger grants than Black-led organizations. Yet there has been little attention, amidst this reckoning, to philanthropy’s relationship to Black religious institutions.

This inattention has not always been the case. More than thirty years ago, the Council on Foundations convened scholars and philanthropic leaders in Washington, D.C., for a conference focused on philanthropy’s relationship to the Black church in America, and the energized grant programs of several major foundations that were seeking to build that relationship. What has happened in the three decades since?

This symposium will bring scholars and practitioners from both philanthropy and the Black church into conversation, allowing us to learn from past chapters of engagement and dig into the challenges and opportunities for our own time. The event will be open to the public, with registration required, and will be held on the campus of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. Keynote speakers include Dr. Robert Franklin of Emory University, Rev. Debra Haggins of Hampton Ministers Conference, and others.

Thursday, April 27, 2023

8:30 am: GATHERING
9:00 am: Welcome: Javier Viera (Garrett) & David King (Lake Institute Director)
9:15 am: Introduction and Overview of Symposium: Reggie Blount
9:30 am: Session 1: Why the Black Church? – Revisiting the Philanthropy and Black Church Project of the 20th Century with speaker Robert Franklin (Emory University) and respondents Mark Constantine (philanthropist) & Cory Anderson, (philanthropist and chair, ABFE)
11:30 am: NETWORKING LUNCH
1:00 pm: Session 2: The Black Church as Anchor Institution with speaker Debra Haggins (Hampton Ministers Conference) and respondents: David Daniels, III (McCormick Seminary) & Raymond Pierce (Southern Education Foundation)
2:30 pm: BREAK
3:00 pm: Session 3: Black Community and Philanthropic Commitment with speaker: Valaida Fullwood (The Soul of Philanthropy) and respondents Stephanie Boddie (Baylor University) & Timothy Russell (WTTW)