Looking Back at 2025: Whew, Chile… We Made It (Together)

If 2025 were a person, I’d say: energetic, unpredictable, a little loud, and determined to keep us on our toes. No warm-up. No warning. Just straight into the deep end—politically, economically, socially, spiritually.

And yet… here we are. Still standing. Still building. Still loving our people hard.

Looking back, I feel gratitude mixed with side-eye. Gratitude for community. Side-eye for systems that still haven’t learned much of anything.

Because 2025 asked a lot of our communities, especially Black communities and others who have been carrying inequity long before it became a buzzword. The political climate felt like a rerun nobody requested. Economic pressure made even solid budgets sweat. And inequities didn’t disappear just because certain words got quieter.

Still, our people showed up. Mutual aid endured. Leadership adapted. Care found its way, even when it had to move quietly.

At the Black Resilience in Colorado (BRIC) Fund, we saw both the strain and the brilliance up close. Black-led and Black-serving nonprofits weren’t just surviving, they were feeding families while pushing for systems change, supporting mental health while navigating burnout, and creating joy and culture in the middle of real fatigue.

Resilience isn’t magic. It’s work. It’s planning. It’s collaboration. It’s choosing community over isolation again and again.

In 2025, BRIC stayed rooted in what we believe—moving resources where they’re needed, investing in Black-led organizations across Colorado, and strengthening leaders of color through the Executive Directors of Color Institute, now a growing family hundreds strong. We leaned into sustainability, because passion without infrastructure is just exhaustion waiting to happen. We also made space for honest conversations—no pretending required.

And yes, we celebrated (BRIC is 5 years strong). Because joy is not optional. Joy is strategy.

There were real wins. Organizations shifted from survival mode to planning mode. Leaders asked for help sooner. Partnerships grew stronger—not shinier, but stronger. And more people recognized that investing in Black communities isn’t charity; it’s common sense.

Challenges remain. Funding uncertainty is real. Leaders are tired, even when hopeful. Equity work didn’t vanish, it just got quieter in some rooms. But quiet doesn’t mean gone. And tired doesn’t mean done.

Looking back at 2025, I don’t see a year we barely got through. I see a year we met head-on—BRIC by BRIC—together.

If this reflection resonates, I invite you to stay connected. Share  this story, check in on a nonprofit leader you care about, or support the work of the BRIC Fund in whatever way feels right.

Invested in Us. Powered by You.

— LaDawn Sullivan

Executive Director, Black Resilience in Colorado (BRIC) Fund