BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A community-driven initiative is working to address systemic oppression and foster racial justice in East Buffalo.
Local leaders gathered at Elim Christian Fellowship, on Wednesday, to share details about the "Buffalo Together Community Response Fund,” a fund established to create sustainable change in the wake of the May 14, 2022, mass shooting at the Tops supermarket on Jefferson Avenue.
Garnell Whitfield, a member of the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund committee, emphasized the group’s commitment to long-term progress.
“We’ve been working diligently in the background, diligently to come up with a strategy that is sustainable and that would bring about long-term sustainable change on the East Side of Buffalo,” Whitfield said.
Since its launch, Buffalo Together has received more than $6 million in donations from more than 100 local and national corporations, foundations, and more than 2,000 individuals nationwide. The initiative's leaders announced that approximately $655,000 will be distributed to local organizations.
Dr. LaVonne Ansari, chair of the response fund, underscored the significance of having leaders of color involved in the decision-making process.
“We are very excited. This is the first time that we will have a group of leaders of color that have resources and funding with the collaboration of other funders to be able to present and govern the dollars that can go to our community,” Ansari said.
To qualify for a grant, organizations must be registered 501(c)(3), propose a project that benefits the public in East Buffalo and close out the grant within a year of receiving funds.
While the project must serve East Buffalo, the organization itself does not need to be based there. Grants cannot exceed $25,000.
As part of the planning process, the Buffalo Together team conducted a review of past initiatives to assess their successes, challenges, and barriers to effectiveness.
“A literacy review was done to look at other initiatives that had taken place that started in this Buffalo community, looked at their plans, looked at their successes, their failures, their outcomes, and the challenges and barriers for what those outcomes were,” said Thomas Beauford, co-chair of the response fund.
The fund was created in direct response to the racially motivated attack that claimed the lives of 10 Black residents and wounded three others. The tragedy exposed the long-standing issues of systemic oppression and segregation that have historically impacted the East Side.
Through intentional and strategic investment, organizers hope the fund will catalyze revitalization, turning East Buffalo into a flourishing, empowered community.
More information can be found on buffalotogetherfund.org.
