Crossroads Coalition – a coalition that was formed in 2015, and is composed of 10 local grassroots organizations – has come together to announce the establishment of the Crossroads Community Fund. This new fund will distribute approximately $1 million a year to benefit frontline communities in the City of Buffalo. This empowering funding measure is part of the Coalition’s “Just Transition,” initiatives, which focus on climate, economic, and racial justice.
Approximately $1 million a year will be distributed through three grant programs over the next 10 years.
Grants will be available* in three funding categories:
- A People’s Fund that offers mutual-aid style direct support to residents for crisis response and emergency assistance
- A DownRoot Fund to build capacity for nonprofit organizations, emerging cooperatives, small businesses, and arts organizations led by historically marginalized and divested individuals
- A Power Up Fund to promote civic literacy
An information session for the funding opportunities will be held at the Merriweather Library on Tuesday, April 1, from 1 to 3 p.m.
The non-profits that make up the Coalition are as follows:
Open Buffalo, PUSH Buffalo, African Heritage Economic Initiative, Coalition of Economic Justice, Cooperation Buffalo, Partnership for the Public Good, Public Accountability Initiative, Massachusetts Avenue Project, Ujima Company Inc., and the WASH Project.
The Coalition’s emphasis is on building a new economy in Buffalo for the well-being of people and the planet.
“This is our moment to demonstrate courageous leadership for WNY communities that have been disinvested from and harmed for decades, including the stolen land and labor of Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks, and those whose gender and sexual identity seem to threaten the systems of power upheld by White Supremacy – all our beloved communities who’ve been held back from opportunity and left to fend for themselves on the margins,” said Dawn Wells-Clyburn, Executive Director of PUSH Buffalo. “With these funds, we have an opportunity to show WNY what real people power – with community-led governance and design – could look like across sectors, on all sides of town, and in all walks of life. And this is just the beginning. We’re only scratching the surface.”
“The establishment of this Fund allows us to reimagine what we can achieve as a Coalition, as a community, embodying Just Transition trust-based philanthropy in Buffalo,” said Win Min Thant, Director of Crossroads Coalition. “The process teaches us how to be vulnerable in shifting power, and how to show trust, love and care to each other in this movement. The funding process led by grassroot visionary leaders empowers the mobilization of crucial resources in most critical moments.”
The Coalition has announced that it will be donating $130,000 to the Refugee Partnership’s Crisis Response Fund.
Without skipping a beat, the Coalition has announced that it will be donating $130,000 to the Refugee Partnership’s Crisis Response Fund. This critical funding is a measure that allow the Response Fund to provide food, shelter, and healthcare to some of the 731 refugees that were recently denied federal assistance from the Trump administration. It is for reasons such as this that the Crossroads Community Fund has been established.
“The Crossroads Community Fund is a vision that our ancestors and freedom fighters have been fighting for. It builds the Beloved Community-Dr. King dreamed of,” said Franchelle Parker, Executive Director of Open Buffalo. “It is a bold and unapologetic investment in Buffalo’s people, neighborhoods, and grassroots organizations. It marks a historical shift from traditional, top-down philanthropy to a community-driven model—one that understands community needs, because we are the community. It builds real power from the ground up. By mobilizing resources where they are needed most, we are creating a just, thriving, and sustainable future for everyone in Buffalo.”
“At Cooperation Buffalo, our work is all about shifting control of economic resources to those most impacted by racial, economic, and climate injustice, through entrepreneurship training and technical assistance for cooperatively owned businesses,” expressed Andrew Delmonte, Executive Director of Cooperation Buffalo. “The Crossroads Community Fund is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to practice community control of vital economic resources. The coalition of community-based organizations launching this fund are taking our cues from the grassroots and funding work that will transform Buffalo through community-owned and community-led efforts.”
Learn more at Crossroads Coalition
*Grants will be immediately available from the People’s Fund and a DownRoot Fund; Power Up is currently in development.