The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has launched a $3 million relief fund to support Black families and communities hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Associated Press reported that the Survival Fund was launched quietly earlier this month by the foundation formed in 2013, saying it planned on giving up 3,000 microgrants of $1,000 each to people most impacted by the pandemic.
Individuals may apply to receive a microgrant on the foundation’s website, stating that the fund “is open to anyone who identifies as Black, with special consideration for people who are transgender, single caregivers, or formerly incarcerated.”
The group said that, if approved, the grant is deposited directly into a recipient’s bank account or sent to the recipient on prepaid debit cards.
Patrisse Cullors, one of the Black Lives Matter co-founders and the foundation’s executive director, said that the fund “came from a collective conversation with BLM leadership that Black folks are being hurt the most financially during the pandemic.”
“I believe that when you have resources, to hoard them is a disservice to the people who deserve them,” she added.
The grants are being administered through UpTogether, a Family Independence Initiative project, providing direct investments to low-income families and young entrepreneurs to combat poverty.
At least 300 people had already been approved for grants as of Thursday.