Smaller, Black-led nonprofit organizations — the types that many times have the most direct connection to communities and are most in need of support — are less likely to receive adequate funding, according to a new study conducted by Candid and the Association of Black Foundation Executives.
The study found that of the 3,500 nonprofits surveyed, only 50% of the Black-led nonprofit organizations received essential funding compared to 70% of White-led nonprofits.
The lack of funding was most common amongst smaller Black-led nonprofit organizations, which tend to receive fewer sizable grants and are less likely to maintain longstanding funder relationships.
Significance. “There’s a misconception that Black-led nonprofits received a windfall of funding following the 2020 racial justice movement,” said Candid CEO Ann Mei Chang. “Data like this enables us to demonstrate what is actually occurring in the funding landscape and spark a productive, sector-wide discourse on what Black-led nonprofits need from private foundations.”
Overlooked angle. At a time when government assistance programs across the country are being slashed under the Trump administration, nonprofit organizations have seen a surge in demand to make up for cuts. In a 2026 report from the Nonprofit Voice Project, one nonprofit leader wrote, “The current environment has created ongoing uncertainty and strain within our organization … national cuts to major food programs have reduced resources and increased instability across the hunger-relief sector, leaving nonprofits like ours facing higher demand with fewer supports.”
Who this impacts. Black-led nonprofits mostly serve low-income people and families, the majority of whom are Black and Brown in the United States.
Almost all of the Black-led nonprofits surveyed in this report shared they rely heavily on foundational funding to operate and serve Black and Brown communities, showing that the funding disparity is not due to nontraditional funding models.
The power structure. Nonprofit organizations that specialize in serving and empowering diverse communities face even greater challenges under the current administration’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion. President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive orders against federal funding and support for programming and practices that are explicitly antiracist and oriented toward racial justice have altered funding opportunities, increased legal scrutiny, and cut grants to nonprofits that help Black and Brown individuals — the majority of which are led by Black and Brown leaders.
What experts say. “Our longitudinal analysis of hundreds of thousands of grants demonstrates a continued lack of investment in Black-led nonprofits, not only in terms of dollars, but in terms of who gets their foot in the door when it comes to foundation funding,” said Cathleen Clerkin, associate vice president of research at Candid, in a statement. “By combining this with qualitative feedback from the leaders of these organizations, we’re able to see not just trends, but also the lived experience and impact of prolonged disinvestment.”
