The Sankofa Effect: Remembering Our Giving, Funding Our Future

By LaDawn Sullivan, Executive Director, Black Resilience in Colorado (BRIC) Fund

As we approach Black Philanthropy Month this August, I’m reminded of a simple truth: our past holds the key to our future. In 2011, when Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland founded Black Philanthropy Month, she called us to celebrate and elevate the legacy of Black giving worldwide. In 2012, here in Colorado, I took up that call by seeding Colorado’s first Black giving circles, laying a foundation that has since grown into the Black Resilience in Colorado (BRIC) Fund.

We started small but mighty – a group of Black donors pooling our 5Ts (Time, Talent, Treasure, Testimony, and social Ties) to strengthen our community from within. We gathered around kitchen tables, living room sofas, and conference rooms, driven by one question: What can we do together that we cannot do alone?

That spirit of collective giving and co-ownership – rooted in the African principle of Sankofa, meaning “go back and fetch it” – birthed BRIC. We remembered the mutual aid societies of our ancestors who ensured no one was left behind. We reclaimed our power to invest in ourselves, unencumbered by systems that often overlook Black-led solutions. And we rose to build BRIC as Colorado’s first Black community fund, ensuring Black-led nonprofits have the resources to sustain and scale their vital work to build strong Black communities in Colorado and beyond.

I must also lift up the Denver African American Philanthropists (DAAP), the first Black all-male giving circle west of the Mississippi, whose leadership, generosity, and commitment to our community helped till the ground for this collective movement. Together, Colorado’s Black giving circles showed that Black philanthropy is not new – it is an inheritance we carry forward with purpose and pride.

This year’s Black Philanthropy Month theme, Sankofa Now! Remember. Reclaim. Rise, is more than a reflection; it is a rallying call. At a time when DEI initiatives are under attack and Black-led movements are being sidelined, we must remember our philanthropic roots built on collective care and community-driven investment. We must reclaim our power to shape the future, ensuring Black-led change is not just recognized but sustained. And we must rise by reinvesting in our people, our movements, and our solutions – because the future of Black philanthropy, and all humanity, depends on what we do today.

At BRIC, we see this every day. Our investments in Black-led and Black-serving nonprofits are not just grants or capacity-building programs – they are fuel for liberation, resilience, and generational impact. They are an embodiment of Sankofa, honoring those who came before us by building a future worthy of their sacrifices, their giving.

As poet Dr. Maya Angelou once said, “I come as one, but I stand as ten thousand.” Our giving is never about just us – it is about the 10,000 who stand with us and the 10,000 yet to come.

This is not just a Black issue—it is a global one. A thriving Black community benefits everyone. The fight for equity, opportunity, and justice strengthens our collective future, creating a world where ALL can prosper. Black philanthropy has always been a catalyst for change. And right now, in a time when progress is at risk, we need ALL hands-on deck.

The time is now. The power is ours. Sow into our future today.

Let us remember. Let us reclaim. Let us rise – BRIC by BRIC.

In celebration of Black Philanthropy Month, contributions made to the Black Resilience in Colorado (BRIC) Fund in August will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000. Make a contribution at https://www.bricfund.org/build-bric.