BIPOC Opportunity Fund

For decades, the fundraising and philanthropic space in Austin has historically marginalized and left out the voices of fundraisers of color and communities of color. It is our goal to proactively work to dismantle historic racism that has existed within our AFP chapter and in this field. With this and with the goals of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in mind, the AFP Greater Austin Chapter will be launching a new program entitled “BIPOC Opportunity Fund”. This fund will be used to award capacity building grants to BIPOC-led (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) organizations and provide them with an AFP fundraising consultant to help them build and strengthen their fundraising capacity to advance their missions over a year. Whether that be the development of annual fund plan, professional development for staff, grant writing, feasibility study, and or a development audit, this fund will both provide resources and technical expertise needed by both the client and the consultant, which are real barriers. Some of the overarching goals of this initiative are to:

Strengthen fundraising strategies and the capacity for BIPOC-led organizations
Establish trust and new alliances with communities of color in the Greater Austin philanthropic community
Build the pipeline for fundraisers of color to showcase and demonstrate their profession and contributions
Empower both fundraisers of color and BIPOC led organizations to realize their full potential as professionals and high impact nonprofit organizations in our region

In 2024, the goal is to raise $50,000 for the fund and grow it every year for more impact. Our hope is to raise this target by April 30th and make this wonderful announcement at the 2024 Philanthropy Day at the Paramount Theater.

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Initiative Timeline:

By June 2024, AFP will build and maintain a Greater Austin fundraisers of color database
By June 2024, AFP will develop a trust-based application/RFP process for qualified BIPOC organizations to apply for
By August 2024, AFP will publicly launch the BIPOC Fund for interested parties
By September 2024, applicants will be selected and awarded grants. 1-3 grants will be targeted for the first year of the pilot
By October 2024, fundraising consultants of color will be matched with selected organizations. Essentially, AFP will pay for the consultant for a pre-determined period of time (no longer nine-month) to carryout services

Success Metrics:

Increase in AFP memberships by BIPOC led organizations. Each BIPOC led organization awarded a grant will receive 2 AFP annual memberships for their employees for the year. We hope this initiative will inspire other BIPOC organization to join our chapter.
Increase in development capacity of BIPOC led nonprofits: Based on the nature of the fundraising project, all awardees will report a significant increase in the development capacity after a pre and post assessment.
Fundraisers of Color will report an increase in their consulting business: Participating consultants of color in the initiative, will report an increase in the consulting business (referrals, new contracts, etc.)
AFP IDEA Impact report will document significant improvements: All awardees will provide a end of year impact report that demonstrates how this fund advanced their mission, work, and fundraising capacity based on the IDEA objectives.
AFP GAC Chapter will see a 15% increase of fundraisers of color participating in our events and activities

ADDITIONAL FACTS:

We define BIPOC led nonprofit organizations when two of three criteria are met: 1. at least 50% of the board of directors identifies as BIPOC; 2. whose executive director or 50% of senior leadership (decision-makers) identify as BIPOC, and 3. whose mission statement and/or programs aim to predominately serve BIPOC communities.
Generally, BIPOC led organizations with operating budgets of under $500k will be given first consideration for this fund.
The BIPOC Fund would award 2 to 3 technical assistance grants annually to BIPOC led nonprofit organizations wherein a fundraiser of color (preferably, but not exclusively) would be selected to provide development consulting services based on a defined scope of work contractually over a 9-month time period.