Give Black, Give Back Initiative Celebrates Black Philanthropy, Connects with Area Nonprofit Organizations

Give Black, Give Back Co-Chairs Kia Jarmon (left) and Lisa Swift-Young.

On a sunny late afternoon in August 2019, the idea for The Community Foundation’s newest initiative began at an invitationonly mixer hosted at the Nashville Business Incubation Center in Germantown. Our guests gathered to celebrate Black Philanthropy Month — a global recognition and concerted campaign to elevate African-descent giving.

The ingredients for any successful mixer — food and drink, donors and community leaders, staff members, name tags to help facilitate conversation amid the mingling, and inspirational speakers to cap the event — were present.

The consensus afterward: THAT went well. Followed quickly by: We need to build from this.

Through the years, CFMT has been a valuable resource to celebrate Black philanthropists and connect with nonprofit organizations that are led by and serve the Black community, as well as those organizations that serve to advance the Black experience in the broader community.

Thus, the Give Black, Give Back initiative was formed to engage and encourage Black philanthropists to continue enhancing the vibrancy of our community. We do this by: • Helping to establish strategies for collaboration between fundholders affiliated with CFMT; • Helping foster new partnerships among Black philanthropists and nonprofit organizations with similar aspirations for serving the community; • Seeking collaborations with corporate, civic/social organizations for greater visibility and awareness of funds established by Black philanthropists for the Black community.

Give Black, Give Back has had a fruitful beginning, led by Audra Cox, CFMT’s development manager for donor services, co-chairs Lisa Swift-Young and Kia Jarmon, and its founding advisory committee that is comprised of some of the most dedicated people who have a heart and passion to do the necessary work as ambassadors for “sage wisdom” and “new ideas.”

Founding advisory members include Eric Brown, Ron Corbin, Barbara Gray, Brandon Hill, Jennifer Oldham, and Antonio Young. Since its establishment, Give Black, Give Back has already succeeded at using its platform to lift up Black-led funds at the Foundation.

Tia Barbour-Hale

One example is the Tia Barbour-Hale OGOT Legacy Fund that was established in 2020 to honor the life of Tia Barbour-Hale, a 2006 graduate of Tennessee State University’s Occupational Therapy Program.

Professionally, Tia was an occupational therapist dedicated to empowering Nashville’s exceptional needs students — and their families — to excel personally and intellectually both independently and through nonprofits offering customized educational programs ensuring long-term success in life.

This memorial fund allows Tia’s husband and Black philanthropist, Courtney Hale, and their daughter, Ever Grey, to provide grant funding to support the hiring of additional occupational therapists serving special education students in Metro Nashville Public Schools.

In addition to supporting MNPS occupational therapists, Courtney continues the work he and Tia once dreamed of pursuing by educating elementary and middle school-aged children through the family’s nonprofit, knowledgeBANK, and its Super Money Kids Co. and kBCoins programs. The curriculum is designed to improve the financial literacy of youth by utilizing a home bank that is divided into three parts — saving, spending and sharing. CFMT’s Change We Seek Advised Fund, established in 2017 by Give Black, Give Back co-founder Lisa Swift-Young and husband Antonio Young, has also been highlighted as the Fund offers grants to nonprofits assisting underserved urban communities by working on community improvement, housing and shelter, and human services needs.

Change We Seek is also involved in a partnership with Urban League of Middle Tennessee under the leadership of President and CEO Clifton Harris, with the goal to fund “micro-grants” made to minority-led nonprofits and community-based organizations.

Amid the worldwide pandemic and civil unrest in 2020, Give Black, Give Back hosted a number of live-stream video conversations with powerful guest panelists through CFMT’s social media platforms, published several stories about past and present Black philanthropists who have made a significant impact in the Nashville community, and celebrated the globally-recognized Black Philanthropy Month, receiving a Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County Mayoral Proclamation declaring August 13 as Give Black, Give Back Day.

Volunteers with the Urban League of Middle Tennessee assist with a drive-through event — in partnership with Patterson Park Community Center, First Baptist Murfreesboro and Amazon— that provided free hot meals, voter registration and goodie bags filled with books for kids.

Volunteers with the Urban League of Middle Tennessee assist with a drive-through event — in partnership with Patterson Park Community Center, First Baptist Murfreesboro and Amazon— that provided free hot meals, voter registration and goodie bags filled with books for kids.

Volunteers with the Urban League of Middle Tennessee assist with a drive-through event — in partnership with Patterson Park Community Center, First Baptist Murfreesboro and Amazon— that provided free hot meals, voter registration and goodie bags filled with books for kids.

As advisory committee member Eric Brown aptly summarized to conclude one video conversation, “Keep on giving. That’s what Black people do. That’s what Black people continue to do.”

Stories, videos, and additional information can be found at www.BlackGivingBack.com