The Sankofa Fund: CIN’s newest giving circle

The Sankofa Fund of Southwest Pennsylvania is the newest giving circle to connect with the Community Investment Network. Located in Pittsburgh, the circle was organized in November 2006 by the POISE Foundation (a community foundation) and Program to Aid Citizens Enterprise (a non-profit organization that supports the creation and growth of other non-profit organizations in the African-American community).

Nineteen active members currently make up the circle, ranging in age from the 30’s to the 60’s. There are 12 women and seven men who work in a variety of for-profit and non-profit occupations. The focus of the Sankofa Fund is to provide grants to organizations that serve the African-American community that may not be eligible to receive funding from larger sources.

According to Mark Lewis, president and CEO of the POISE Foundation, the opportunity to provide the Pittsburgh Region’s African- American community with education about, and to increase participation in strategic-focused philanthropy, was the inspiration behind the Sankofa Fund circle. “We wanted to provide a model consisting of a relatively small number of individuals coming together for a common cause and developing solutions based on their own resources,” he said. “In reviewing the financial statements of organizations applying for grants from the POISE Foundation, we discovered that giving by individuals was extremely low or non-existent. This may be due to the higher level of giving coming directly from foundations in Pittsburgh as compared to other cities. We felt the circle would help frame a community conversation around giving.”

Lewis added that the primary attraction for most of the circle’s members was that African American’s were helping other African Americans. During the group’s December meeting, founding members were asked the question “What made you want to be a part of this circle?” Answers, he said, ranged from it is a way to give back to the community, to the concept of “pooling” resources is a plus, to the power and opportunity to focus on personal philanthropy, to engaging the youth in Pittsburgh.

Interest in the circle has been favorable, said Luci Dabney, executive director of the Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise (PACE). “”Sixty people attended our introductory reception; from that, our current members were selected. The circle has also been featured in a local newspaper and a community affairs television program.

Lewis and Dabney said that being affiliated with CIN has provided, and in the future will provide, invaluable resources through its knowledge and experience. “The networking, sharing of best practices, successes and failures will help make all of the giving circles more productive and efficient,” Lewis said. “It also provides the intangible benefit of knowing there are other African Americans with the same belief that we have the ability to affect our own community.” Dabney added, “Attending the CIN conference last year provided circle formation and management information, and also a sense of the spiritual and cultural significance of the ‘giving circle movement’ in the African-American community.”

CIN is also playing an instrumental role in the Sankofa Fund’s development. Darryl Lester, founder of the Community Investment Network (CIN) attended the circle’s introductory meeting and an organizational meeting where he provided advice and educational materials. He also shared the “Giving Circle Journey” that the Sankofa Fund is using to form its circle. In addition, CIN will partially fund nine of its members to attend the Black Philanthropy Conference in Washington, D.C.

In the six months that the Sankofa Fund has been in existence, the circle has completed its mission, vision and theory change. It has also chosen the host, The POISE Foundation, and is in the process of deciding the structure of its executive officers and determining a level of commitment. The circle also received a $5,000 grant from the United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to help establish the circle, as well as promote the idea of giving circles in the community so others will considering forming them.

“In the next five to 10 years, we would like to see the circle viewed as a leader in identifying key issues in the community and having the ability to provide financial support that has a major impact on the issues,” Lewis said. “We would also expect the circle to have the power to leverage other funds from foundations, organizations and individuals to address the issues it views as critical. At the end of 10 years, we hope the circle will have endowment funds of at least $250,000.”

“We also hope,” said Dabney,” that circle members will have provided guidance to others interested in forming their own giving circles. POISE and PACE have commissioned research to document and celebrate collective giving in the African-American community in Pittsburgh.”

Linda Powell-Jones is a freelance writer, photographer and proofreader in Raleigh, NC.