The story of Black philanthropy in America has long been overlooked, or told through a few emblematic names — even though, as Black Philanthropy Month’s founders told me, that story is not just about the wealthy elite, but about ordinary people giving what they could, whenever they could.Another problem over the years is that Black philanthropy has often been folded into a broader mischaracterization of Black wealth: that it is confined mainly to public-facing entertainers and athletes. In reality, Black professionals and entrepreneurs across many sectors are building wealth and a new generation of Black financial leaders reflects that shift. Some are now directing their resources toward causes they care about, often without much fanfare.Beyond the Oprah Winfreys and the Robert F. Smiths, a younger generation of donors who are not yet household names are in the early innings of their giving. But they represent the widening of the Black philanthropic class and could yet emerge as serious givers in the coming decades.At a moment when DEI initiatives face political headwinds, when federal funding for social programs is increasingly unreliable, and when institutions that have long served Black communities are more financially precarious than they’ve been in a generation, these donors are poised to step up. Here are a few names to watch. Frank Baker and Laura Day BakerFrank Baker grew up watching his father work his way from foreman to plant manager at Ford in Detroit, while his mother ran a beauty salon. A Goldman Sachs alum and cofounder of Siris Capital Group, a middle-market private equity firm, Baker and his wife Laura Day Baker have built a focused giving portfolio centered on HBCUs and education access. In 2020, inspired by Robert F. Smith’s now-legendary Morehouse gift, the couple made a $1 million gift to Spelman College. In 2022, they gave $1.2 million to Florida A&M to establish the Frank and Laura Baker Graduation Fund, designed to eliminate the account balances that prevent otherwise-qualified students from crossing the finish line. “We wanted to make sure that students who were on the path to graduate in four years, graduated in four years,” Baker told me in 2022. David and Lisa GrainThe founder of Grain Management, a Washington, D.C.-based, telecom-focused private equity firm, billionaire David Grain, 63, and his wife Lisa are a couple to watch. Their Grain Family Foundation is only part of the story: Its gifts include $250,000 to the Obama Foundation in 2024, $50,000 to PBS in 2023, $25,000 to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. But those numbers pale beside lifetime giving in the millions to the Obama Foundation, while other philanthropic activities suggest potential for broader scope. For example, the family was also an early funder of “Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History,” the Henry Louis Gates Jr. documentary series for PBS.Lisa Grain, a retired orthodontist from a family of educators, has been a driving force in the Grain Fellows Program, which has supported low-income students at Booker High School in Sarasota, Florida, with SAT prep and college mentorship since 2004. And in 2022, the foundation funded and produced the Richard Hunt monograph honoring the late pioneering Black sculptor, a gift to cultural preservation as much as to art history. Kwanza Jones and José E. FelicianoThrough the Kwanza Jones & José E. Feliciano Initiative, which Jones cofounded with her financier husband and business partner Feliciano, the couple has committed more than $250 million to philanthropic and impact work across four pillars: education, entrepreneurship, equity and empowerment. That giving includes headline gifts like $20 million to Princeton that resulted in the first two dorms in the university’s history named for Black and Latino alums, along with major support for Cardozo School of Law and Bennett College, an HBCU. But Jones has long framed her philanthropy as something more expansive than writing checks. As she told me in 2025, “Influence without impact is hollow. But impact without influence can be less impactful and can seem almost invisible. By being able to map impact and influence. That’s how you get the multiplier and leads to more people creating more impact.”  Levoyd E. RobinsonRobinson grew up the son of a nurse and a plumber. He cofounded CFI Partners in 2005, a Chicago-based registered investment advisor that now manages approximately $8 billion in assets. In 2024, he gave his alma mater Howard University $1.4 million, establishing the Levoyd E. Robinson Family Fund at the School of Business, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1987. Robinson also joined the board of trustees of Howard last year, suggesting his engagement with the institution will extend beyond a single gift. Sherrese Clarke SoaresSoares spent 15 years at Morgan Stanley, leading entertainment finance and capital solutions. Following that, she founded Tempo Music and then, in 2021, launched HarbourView Equity Partners. Today, HarbourView manages $2.7 billion in regulatory assets across more than 70 music catalogs and stakes in media companies including MACRO.The HarbourView Foundation, a 501c3 foundation she established in honor of the Jamaican neighborhood where her family came of age, supports the performing arts, women’s rights and issues facing immigrant, Black, Latino, and LGBTQ+ communities. Soares is a trustee at Carnegie Hall and is also a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights advisor, and a TOIGO Foundation Fellow.Kesha CashCash was the first in her family to graduate from college, attending Berkeley and then Columbia Business School. She is the founder of and general partner at Impact America Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in technology-driven companies supporting underserved communities. Portfolio companies include CareAcademy, which trains and supports home care workers, and Twentyeight Health, a digital reproductive healthcare platform. Impact America Fund’s investor base includes a number of foundations including the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Kellogg Foundation and Surdna Foundation. Related Inside Philanthropy Resources:For Subscribers OnlyRonald BlaylockBlaylock, 66, has been one of the most consistent Black voices in American finance for three decades, first as founder and CEO of Blaylock & Co., the investment banking firm, and then as founder of GenNx360 Capital Partners, his private equity firm.Blaylock is a trustee at Carnegie Hall, which he and his wife Petra have steadily supported, including bolstering its youth programming. He also sits on the executive board of New York University’s Stern School of Business, where he got his MBA. He has served on the boards of Covenant House and the Inner-City Scholarship Fund. The couple have served as fundraisers for the Municipal Art Society of New York. Eileen Harris NortonA former elementary schoolteacher and native Angeleno from Watts, Harris Norton began collecting art during her marriage to software developer Peter Norton. The pair also supported political, environmental and social service nonprofits through their foundation.The couple divorced in 2000 and Harris Norton launched the low-profile Eileen Harris Norton Foundation in 2009, which focuses on education — including arts education — families, and the environment. Grantmaking focuses on Los Angeles to the tune of about $1 million annually. She’s been a major backer of CalArts, including through a $5 million gift to create the Charles Gaines Faculty Chair, honoring the pioneering Black conceptual artist. She is also the cofounder of Art + Practice, creating a space that pairs contemporary art exhibitions and free arts programming with case management for young people in foster care. Jrue and Lauren HolidayThe pro athletes first met as students at the University of California, Los Angeles, where Jrue played basketball and Lauren starred on the soccer field. Both went on to professional careers. Jrue has played in the NBA since 2009 and is now a tough-nosed guard for the Portland Trailblazers while Lauren is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and former standout for the United States women’s national soccer team.In 2020, the couple launched the Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Impact Fund with a $5 million commitment, aiming to support nonprofits, HBCUs and Black-owned businesses. The fund directs resources toward social service programs serving communities of color in places meaningful to the couple, including New Orleans, where Jrue played for several seasons, as well as their hometowns of Los Angeles and Indianapolis. In the years since, the Holidays have continued expanding the effort, backing grassroots organizations and entrepreneurs while using their platform in sports to spotlight racial equity and community investment.



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