Amid a global pandemic and a historic level of protesting across the country, one of the largest banks in the country has just announced a $1 billion investment into addressing racial inequality.

Charlotte-based Bank of America announced this week that they would be giving community programs and small businesses $250 million per year over the next 4 years to help address racial inequalities.

“Underlying economic and social disparities that exist have accelerated and intensified during the global pandemic,” Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan remarked. “The events of the past week have created a sense of true urgency that has arisen across our nation, particularly in view of the racial injustices we have seen in the communities where we work and live. We all need to do more.”

The money will help fund programs around 90 local U.S. markets focused on:

• Virus testing, telemedicine, flu vaccination clinics, and other health services, with a special focus on communities of color.
• Partnerships with historically black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions in the United States for hiring, research programs, and other areas of mutual opportunity.
• Support to minority-owned small businesses, including clients and vendors.
• Career reskilling/upskilling through partnerships with high schools and community colleges.
• Operating support and investment for affordable housing/neighborhood revitalization, leveraging our nearly $5 billion in Community Development Banking.
• Further recruitment and retention of teammates in low-to-moderate-income and disadvantaged communities to build on work the company has already done to serve clients locally.

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation – a regional affiliate and grantmaking arm of Foundation For The Carolinas – recently granted $500,000 to 25 local nonprofits to support projects that focus on children, youth and young adults. This grant program aligns with the recommendations of the Leading on Opportunity report.

“It’s important now, more than ever, that we invest in our community’s future, which is why the CMCF board wanted to keep the grant pool at $500,000, the same level this year as last,” said Brian Collier, executive vice president of Foundation For The Carolinas. “From social capital and future employment to educational assistance and valuable life skills – these grants, and the programs they support, will have a powerful impact on the lives of our children and the families that care for them.”

CMCF’s grantmaking program was established following a $35 million bequest from Lucille Puette Giles in 1995. To date, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation has awarded more than $50 million in grants. Because the fund was established as an unrestricted endowment, it provides a permanent source of grantmaking for community needs as they evolve over time.

Children, youth and young adult grants include:

• $25,000 to the Ada Jenkins Families & Careers Development Center for LEARN Works, a program that builds academic skills for elementary and middle school students.
• $15,000 to Augustine Literacy Project – Charlotte to bolster its work in providing tutors for multi-sensory reading instruction.
• $10,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas to bolster its one-on-one mentoring programs.
• $20,000 to Carolina Youth Coalition to support its College Success program for high-achieving, under-resourced students.
• $35,000 to Charlotte Bilingual Preschool to support and expand current programs offered to Latinx children, such as its preschool program.
• $20,000 to Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center to support its Community Language Impact Program.
• $25,000 to Communities in Schools to provide students with personal guidance and evidence-based support to help them stay in school and achieve.
• $20,000 to E2D to provide computers for students enrolled in the CMS IT Career Pathway program that do not have access to home equipment.
• $10,000 to EmpowHERment for its Leadership App and Mentoring Portal, which allows girls and women to access leadership curriculum, online workshops and more.
• $10,000 to Foundation for Girls to enroll 65 homeless teen mothers in an 11-month program with weekly skills-based training to help them toward financial independence.
• $10,000 to Freedom School Partners to support its six-week summer programs.
• $25,000 to Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont to support its Construction Skills Training Center, which provides free skilled-trades training.
• $35,000 to Heart Math Tutoring for one-on-one tutoring to students in high-poverty elementary schools.
• $20,000 to International House for its Rising Readers: Free Summer Learning for Immigrant Children program, which helps students in grades 1-3+ with limited English proficiency avoid summer learning loss.
• $10,000 to Latin American Women’s Association to support its High School Series workshops, which assist first-generation Latino students in college and career planning.
• $25,000 to ourBRIDGE for KIDS to support afterschool and summer programs for children of immigrants and refugees.
• $25,000 to Profound Gentleman to strengthen the pipeline of male educators of color in Charlotte.
• $15,000 to Reach Out and Read Carolinas to provide evidence-based literacy programs to more than 30,000 children between the ages of 0-5.
• $10,000 to The Learning Collaborative to provide Family School Readiness, which prepares children to successfully enter kindergarten and empowers parents with the skills necessary to support their child.
• $15,000 to Time Out Youth to create safe and welcoming spaces to decrease the dropout rate for LGBTQ+ students.
• $20,000 to UrbanPromise Charlotte for its StreetLeader Program, which employs high school students as counselors and mentors for younger children.
• $25,000 to Young Black Leadership Alliance to support its College and Career Development program, which provides training and support to 500 underserved students and parents.
• $25,000 to Year Up to increase access to its Workforce Development Program from 53 students to 200 students enrolled.
• $40,000 to Youth Villages for its YVLifeSet program, which helps young people develop independent living skills.
• $10,000 to YWCA Central Carolinas to provide year-round, out-of-school programs to boost reading for low-income K-5th graders and to encourage parents to engage in their child’s academics.

For more information about the Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation, visit www.charmeck-cf.org.