Inside Philanthropy’s Post

For Inside Philanthropy, had a pleasure talking to National Trust for Historic Preservation's Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund about work preserving and empowering Black history sites around the country, including the historic 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Here's a moment from the piece: The Action Fund also seeded a $200,000 investment to help 16th Street Baptist permanently sustain its preservation and management as a historic national asset. Having permanent resources on hand in the form of an endowment can be a game changer for struggling nonprofits — which includes many American churches, excepting outliers like D.C.’s National Cathedral and New York’s Trinity Church. With 16th Street Baptist’s congregation waning, Leggs reframed the conversation. “We also believe it’s an unfair stewardship responsibility for the church to have the sole financial responsibility for caring for our nation’s history. We wanted to ensure they had an endowment that would help cover the long-term costs of preserving the building.” The church is now actively fundraising to establish a $2 million endowment. #philanthropy #HBCUs #Morehouse #Howard #blackphilanthropy #nonprofits #dei #crt