Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | July 6, 2020 | wbjournal.com e national surge in donations to Black advocacy groups following the police killing of George Floyd is slowly trickling to Central Mass. organizations Funding equality F I N A N C I A L P L A N N I N G FOCUS I n the month following the police killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, national civil rights, social justice and Black advocacy organizations like Black Lives Mat- ter and protestor bail funds saw surges in donations, reaching a cumulative nine figures. While Central Massachusetts non- profits haven't seen nearly the same size surge, the extra attention given to racial equity efforts has led to a small uptick in private donations and an effort by the Greater Worcester Community Founda- tion to fund anti-racism causes. "In addition to the public work that we've done, we are connecting behind the scenes with groups and organizations that are interested in issues with challenges of inequity community wide," said Jona- than Cohen, GWCF vice president for programs and strategy. As the outrage over the killing of Floyd and other unarmed Black people has turned into daily nationwide protests and increased organization around racial equity, a key to keeping the efforts going will be sustained funding for those nonprofits and other groups advocating against institutional racism. e Worcester branch of the NAACP has received two $5,000 donations since Floyd's death on May 25 – from the Worcester Railers Hockey Club and Workers Credit Union of Fitchburg – far above the few thousand dollars the organization usually has, said First Vice President Fred Taylor. We're "not used to getting a lot of fund- ing," said Taylor. "So [these donations] have created an opportunity for us." One of these donations was given to increase educational purposes, and the other is to directly support the branch. Membership at the NAACP Worcester chapter increased 20% in June, as 30 new members joined. Grassroots organizations looking for funding e national spike in donations to BY DEVINA BHALLA Worcester Business Journal Editorial Intern Ron Waddell, with sons Joshua and Isaiah, has been building the nonprofit Legendary Legacies, helping men ages 17 to 24 become productive citizens. He first started working on the nonprofit as an employee of the Worcester Community Action Council and now does it full time. PHOTOS/MATT WRIGHT

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