Buffalo Together Community Response Fund Announces Efforts to Address Community Need after Jefferson Avenue Tragedy

Buffalo, N.Y.– The Buffalo Together Community Response Fund, established in the wake of the horrific racially-motivated mass shooting at the Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue earlier this month, will begin to distribute initial support to 70 Black-led organizations that have a meaningful and long-term presence in the community, and that are working on the front lines to address urgent community need in the aftermath of the tragedy. Approximately $560,000 in grants ranging from $5,000 – $20,000 will begin to be distributed in the coming days.

To date, $3 million has been committed from nearly 50 local and national foundations and corporations, as well as more than 1,100 individuals from all over the country who have donated online or mailed in checks. To see the full list of corporations and foundations who have committed support to date, please visit www.BuffaloTogetherFund.org.

Three general areas of support have been identified for the Buffalo Together Fund including providing important support with a focus on Black-led organizations that are working directly in the community; ensuring availability of mental health services; and addressing longer-term, systemic issues of racial justice. The Fund is meant to complement other fundraising efforts that are focused specifically on funeral expenses and support for those directly impacted by the shooting.

The initial phase has begun with the identification of 70 organizations supporting efforts in the Jefferson community to address needs. Organizations were identified with the assistance of community representatives, elected officials, and the funders’ existing networks.

The grantees are:

African Heritage Food Co-op

African-American Cultural Center

Agape Fellowship Baptist Church

Back to Basics Outreach Ministries, Inc.

Black Boys Read Too

Black Love Resists in the Rust

Black Nurses Rock – Buffalo Chapter

Brothers Doing Better

Buffalo Breastfeeding Sisters Program – Calming Nature Doula

Buffalo Center for Health Equity

Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers

Buffalo Freedom Gardens

Buffalo Go Green

Buffalo Juneteenth

Buffalo United Front, Inc.

Buffalo Urban League

Calvary Missionary Baptist Church

Candles in the S.U.N.

CAO

Coldspring Community Foundation

Colored Girls Bike Too

Community Health Center of Buffalo

Delavan-Grider Community Center

Durham’s Maternal Stress-Free Zone

Elim Christian Fellowship

Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition

Every Bottom Covered

F.A.T.H.E.R.S.

Feed Buffalo

First Shiloh Baptist Church

Food for the Spirit

Fostering Greatness

G.I.R.L.S. Sports Foundation, Inc.

Greater Eastside Field of Dreams Block Club

Greater Works Christian Fellowship

Group Ministries

HOME

Home Beneath Our Feet

Humboldt Parkway Baptist Church

Impacted Families Project

King Urban Life Center

Lincoln Memorial Methodist Church

MAD Dads of Buffalo

Masten Block Club Coalition

Most Valuable Parents (MVP) of Buffalo

NAACP

National Federation for Just Communities

Northland Workforce Training Center

OES Naomi Chapter #10

Omega Mentoring Program

Open Buffalo

Our Mommie Village and Vegan Village

Project Lee Ministries

Project Mona’s House

Resource Council of WNY

Restore Our Community Coalition

Rooted In Love

Second Chance Ministries

St Luke African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Stop the Violence Foundation

Taste of Faith Food Pantry: True Bethel Baptist Church

The Black Chamber of Commerce of WNY

The Exchange at Beverly Gray

The Upper Room Church of God in Christ

Tru-Way Community Center

Upward Design for Life

VOICE Buffalo

Wakanda Alliance Program

We R Buffalo Strong

Willie Hutch Jones Educational and Supports Program

The Buffalo Together Fund is a collaboration of 14 local funders coordinated by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and United Way of Buffalo & Erie County. It was built upon a collective desire to address urgent needs in our community, long-term community rebuilding, and systemic issues that have marginalized communities of color. While still in the early stages of development, the group will listen, learn and engage with the Black community to develop specific guiding principles and processes for directing the Fund’s resources for additional phases of the Fund’s work.

“There was a collective desire by the funding community to come together to support our Jefferson community in the wake of this horrific racially-motivated hate crime, and we recognized that our first priority was to start with support for Black-led organizations that are on the frontlines serving critical needs, often with unequitable resources,” said Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. “We are committed to engaging with the community going forward to address long-term rebuilding.”

“Convening partners and activating resources in the face of community crisis is what United Way was built to do,” says Michael Weiner, President & CEO, United Way of Buffalo & Erie County. “These initial investments are the first step in a community-led process of listening, learning and rebuilding, made possible by an outpouring of generous support from our community.”

Understanding the need for collaboration in responding to a crisis, many of the partners in Buffalo Together Fund worked together on the WNY COVID-19 Community Response Fund that awarded more than $14.2 million to 400+ nonprofit organizations to address the pandemic. Many are also part of a funding collaborative supporting East Side Avenues with an $8 million fund for capacity building, training, and other supports. This unique partnership of private and philanthropic organizations was created to complement $65 million in New York State investment in revitalization work in four commercial corridors on Buffalo’s East Side.

The Buffalo Together Fund is accepting continued donations at www.BuffaloTogetherFund.org.

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About Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
For more than a century, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo has enhanced and encouraged long-term philanthropy in the Western New York community. A 501 (c)(3) organization, the Community Foundation’s mission is: Connecting people, ideas and resources to improve lives in Western New York. Established in 1919, the Community Foundation has made the most of the generosity of individuals, families, foundations and organizations who entrust charitable assets to the Community Foundation’s care. Learn more at cfgb.org.

About United Way of Buffalo & Erie County
For over 105 years, United Way of Buffalo & Erie County has fought to improve the health, education, and financial stability of every person in our community. By forging unlikely partnerships, finding new solutions to old problems, and mobilizing the best resources, we inspire individuals to join the fight against their community’s most daunting social crises. We believe that to live better, we must LIVE UNITED.  Learn more at uwbec.org.