Our Advisory Committee
BICBP does not function as an independent organization. The BICBP Founding Advising Organizations and the Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Affairs, have established the fund to operate as a donor-supported and advisory committee-supervised initiative under the Philadelphia Foundation. Fund, grant, and development management responsibilities are currently entrusted to a fund development and grant distribution management consultant for at least the first three years of operation.
In summary, BICBP holds and administers its general funds—including both operating and granting funds—through the Philadelphia Foundation. These funds are managed with strict oversight by the BICBP Advisory Committee and its partners.
Our Inception Story
In March 2022, the Philadelphia Foundation approved a two-year, $450,000 grant from the Black Community Leaders Fund. The purpose of the grant was to benefit and support the resource development of the Mayor's Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs under the Office of Immigrant Affairs. The grant was described and summarized through the award letter as follows:
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Black Community Leaders Fund
The goal of the Black Community Leaders Fund was to build the resilience of Black-led nonprofits and create funding opportunities and partnerships to ensure that Black-led, Black-serving organizations in Greater Philadelphia were equitably resourced to sustain, supported to lead in their communities, and better equipped to fulfill their missions and have profound and lasting impact in the Black community.
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Purpose of Grant
The grant was awarded to support the internal leadership, finances, and operations of African and Caribbean Affairs in partnership with the Office of Immigrant Affairs.
During the planning phase, the BICBP founding advising organizations—represented as the collective's founding advisers—identified that in order for the grant to achieve maximum impact, it needed to be used to create and maintain a self-sustaining fund and network. This fund and network would remain active and accessible for the foreseeable future, ensuring long-term resource support for the Black immigrant community of Philadelphia. As a result, the group proposed shifting the goal of the grant from a one-time community investment to a long-term, community-serving resource and accessibility fund.
