The Barr Foundation has announced new commitments in support of racial wealth equity in Boston, including a plan to invest between $15 million and $20 million this year.

The grants this year will support a cohort of allied organizations, with a focus on three areas: supporting leaders and organizations advancing racial wealth equity in the greater Boston region; deepening and broadening research and evidence about the nature of the racial wealth gap and prospective solutions; and exploring the role of narrative efforts to expand understanding of multiple perspectives and support space for community dialogue. As part of its initial grantmaking on racial equity, the foundation has awarded six grants totaling $6.75 million. Recipients include the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts ($1.5 million), Boston Impact Initiative Fund ($1 million), the Foundation for Business Equity ($1.5 million), and Lawyers for Civil Rights ($750,000)

In a blog post, Barr Foundation president and trustee James Canales explained that the foundation decided that, rather than following the normal impulse to take a great deal of time to shape a perfected strategy, it instead would invest significant, unrestricted resources to organizations serving and led by people of color.

“Realizing that no single entity can tackle this complicated issue, we sought to explore over the past several months if there was a constructive role for Barr in addressing this imperative, with a focus on the Greater Boston region,” Canales wrote, “In this exploration, we listened. We listened to and centered the voices and perspectives of those who have been working on addressing the racial wealth gap to learn from their experiences and to benefit from their advice to us.” 

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