Goldman Sachs Announces First Round Of Capital Investments and Philanthropic Grants to 1 Million Black Women

Goldman Sachs has announced the initial grants, capital investments, and philanthropic grants for its One Million Black Women Initiative.

Goldman Sachs’ initiative will commit more than $10 billion to advance racial equity and the economic opportunity of Black women. The multinational investment bank and financial services company has partnered with Black women-led organizations and conducted listening sessions that engaged more than 10,000 Black women to determine what projects would receive funding in the first round.

Goldman Sachs’ advisory council, which consists of 17 Black business leaders and community organizations met Monday to provide guidance on the scope of the investments and grants.

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The first round of investment capital and philanthropic grants will go to the following organizations:

Archer Towers (New York, NY) will fund the construction of a mixed-income residential development in Jamaica, Queens, which will consist of 181 affordable units, 424 market-rate units, and 224 parking spaces. Housing is intrinsically connected to better health outcomes, economic mobility, and employment prospects for Black women and this investment will provide stable, quality, affordable housing.

Birth Center Equity will support Black women-led community birth centers to access new resources to ensure their collective vitality, sustainability, and growth.

BlocPower WiFi (New York, NY) will expand broadband services across the Bronx and Upper Manhattan with a focus on low-income neighborhoods. The lack of affordable broadband access leads to barriers to education, employment opportunities, banking services, healthcare, social networks, and other services for Black women.

Buy From A Black Woman (Atlanta, Georgia) will continue website development, social media education, content, technical assistance, and grant funding to Black women-owned businesses.

Center for Maternal Health Equity at Morehouse School of Medicine (Atlanta, Georgia) directly addresses the disproportionate pregnancy-related mortality rate that Black women face in comparison to white women. 60% of maternal deaths are preventable and through this investment we seek to reverse this troubling statistic.

Columbus Urban League (Columbus, Ohio) will fund the pilot launch of Incubate Her, to create meaningful change in the economic health and outlook of Black women in Central Ohio.

Prosp(a)rity Project (East Palo Alto, California) will fund the development of the 35*2 Free Initiative, which provides personalized financial coaching and retroactive scholarships for “Prosperettes” to help manage student loan debt.

Sadie Collective (Washington, District of Columbia) to fund the creation of high school economic clubs for young Black girls to participate in the annual Federal Reserve Challenge.

Magnolia Mother’s Trust (Jackson, Mississippi) to fund the next iteration of the program which provides Black mothers living in extreme poverty with a $1,000 monthly stipend to help lift them out of poverty.

Women’s Fund of Central Ohio (Columbus, Ohio) to fund the Enduring Progress Initiative to fill the systemic funding gap faced by non-profits led by women of color.

“I have been incredibly inspired by the voices and stories that we’ve heard from Black women all over the country,” Dina Powell McCormick, Global Head of Sustainability and Inclusive Growth, Goldman Sachs said in a release. “We began this journey knowing that we didn’t have all of the answers. We are listening to and learning from Black women at every step, and are centering Black women in all aspects of the program. We believe that our investment capital will be transformational and will provide the infrastructure to support the ambitions and potential of Black women nationwide.”

Goldman Sachs advisory council for the One Million Black Women initiative includes Melissa L. Bradley, Rosalind G. Brewer, Bill Bynum, Melanie Campbell, Ayesha and Stephen Curry, Thelma Golden, Lisa P. Jackson, Valerie B. Jarrett, Lisa Mensah, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, Marc H. Morial, Dr. Dambisa Moyo, Issa Rae, Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, and Darren Walker.