Donations

Like a lot of other people, our first donation was to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, as it was one of the higher profile bail funds that got shared on social media. Unsurprisingly, they've been inundated with donations while many other funds are still in urgent need of support. Here are some other organisations doing valuable work.

In the UK

  • Black Learning Achievement and Mental Health (BLAM) — organisation committed to ensuring that the Black British Community is represented and appreciated, by facilitating a positive social dialogue about Blackness.
  • Black Minds Matter — linking Black individuals and families in the UK with certified, professional, BSlack practitioners for free therapy sessions.
  • Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights — Scottish strategic racial equality charity, based in Glasgow.
  • Operation Black Vote — seeks to inspire BME communities to engage with our public institutions in order to address the persistent race inequalities we face in areas such as: education, health and employment.
  • Runnymede Trust — independent race equality think tank working on research-based interventions in social policy and practice.
  • Southall Black Sisters — a group of Black and minority women with years of experience of struggling for women’s human rights in the UK.
  • Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust — founded to tackle inequality in all forms.
  • The Black Curriculum — an initiative that teaches Black history all year round in the school year, to 8-16 year olds.

Outside the UK

This tool allows you to split a donation between 70+ community bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organisers. You can also refer to this list for individual bail funds and legal help by city in the US. Additionally, check out:

  • ACLU — working in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in the country.
  • Black Lives Matter — global organisation in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
  • Black Visions Collective — organisation dedicated to Black liberation and to collective liberation.
  • Campaign Zero — research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in America.
  • Color of Change — working to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back.
  • Equal Justice Initiative — working to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality.
  • Fair Fight — promoting fair elections in Georgia and around the US.
  • Know Your Rights Camp — advancing the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment and mass-mobilisation.
  • NAACP Legal Defense Fund — America’s premier legal organisation fighting for racial justice.
  • Reclaim The Block — organises Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety
  • The Bail Project — provides free bail assistance to low-income individuals who are legally presumed innocent, and whom a judge has deemed eligible for release before trial contingent on paying bail.

More ways to support

  • Make your donation a regular, ongoing one to ensure these causes get the support they need beyond the times of viral outrage.
  • Check out the other suggested actions on the organisation's website, for instance whether you can sign a petition or email a government official on their behalf in support of their cause (in addition to donating).
  • Donate without spending money by watching this YouTube video and letting all the ads play. As the video description explains: "100% of the advertisement revenue this video makes through AdSense will be donated to the associations that offer protester bail funds, help pay for family funerals, and advocacy listed in the beginning of the video."
  • If you have a birthday coming up, consider asking friends and family to donate to a relevant charity on your behalf.
  • Join the Patreons of your favourite Black activists and content creators and support the work they're doing.
  • Support Black-owned businesses. There are many comprehensive and well-informed lists being shared around Instagram, and listing sites like Shoppe Black that you can use to research options.
  • Boycott businesses that don't stand in solidarity with Black people or have demonstrated that they are racist in their ethics and practices. Boycott businesses who put out a message of solidarity that doesn't match up with their actions the rest of the time.
  • Donate your time. Obviously all of us who can should be staying at home as much as possible right now to keep vulnerable people safe during this pandemic (which disproportionately affects Black people), but there may still be ways you can offer your skills and expertise from home. Consider reaching out to charities and non-profit organisations, particularly local and grassroots from within your community, and asking if you can contribute your skills to help.