$5 Million Committed to Racial Justice

A Message From Our Governing Board

Dear Friends,

When we, the Governing Board of Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF), embraced racial equity as the core of our mission, we did so understanding that the road would be long. We have centuries of deeply entrenched systemic racism to address. Today we are called to accelerated action by the people of our community and nation who have been traumatized enough.

As a board and staff, we have been learning about the power and potential of racial equity over the past few years. Our staff and board have also become more representative of our community, we’ve diversified vendor and partner relationships and we are Queen City Certified in equitable employment practices.

GCF has had a longstanding commitment to racial equity, with investments in the Cincinnati Community Action Now (CAN) Initiative (2001), Better Together Cincinnati (2003), Minority Business Accelerator (2003), the development of the Collaborative Agreement (2002) and Community Problem-Oriented Policing (2003) and other important commitments throughout the years.

In the last few years, we have centered our focus on making our region a more equitable one for all. Recent investments to advance prosperity for people of color in our community have included the formation of All-In Cincinnati (2017), the Racial Equity Matters series (2018), partnering on the development of an affordable housing strategy for our region (2018-19) and the Giving Black: Cincinnati report (2018).

Yet we know there is more to do, with an even greater sense of urgency, especially in changing the systems, policies and practices that are preventing the progress of people of color.

Today we announce the expansion of our focus to advance justice and fairness in our community through our newly formed Fund for Racial Justice. We are making an initial commitment of $5 million over five years from existing resources and reserves. The GCF team will co-design the work of the fund with community partners and individuals directly impacted.

We are committed to creating a more equitable region for all and are doubling down on our efforts, because now is surely the time.

In Solidarity,
The Governing Board of Greater Cincinnati Foundation

 

Delores Hargrove-Young Chair George H. Vincent, Esq. Vice Chair Christopher L. Fister Immediate Past Chair Calvin D. Buford, Esq.

Robyn F. Chatman MD Thomas D. Croft John Domaschko Steve Jemison Mike Keating Uma R. Kotagal, MD Timothy J. Maloney

Ernest F. McAdams, Jr. Esq. David P. Osborn, CFA Maribeth S. Rahe Ryan M. Rybolt Ann M. Schwister Ellen van der Horst Sallie Westheimer