Statement of Fact

Historically, Black women have shown they have the tools, resilience and forced know-how to survive brutally unjust systems. This same resilience continues to shape our communities in leadership roles as mothers, sisters, grandmothers and aunties. 

Mission

The Asheville Black Women’s Fund (ABWF) invests in the futures of Black women through direct financial gifts as a pathway to create a more equitable Asheville, North Carolina.

Vision

We envision a world where all Black women are free to thrive, be well, feel honored and follow their calling. We know that the liberation of Black women will lead to the liberation of us all.

Values

We support Black women in building generational wealth. We provide meaningfully-sized, direct gifts as a strategy to close the racial wealth gap. We believe that the economic success of Black women will ripple throughout our community to support the growth of the Asheville community. (See  Aisha Nyandoro’s TED talks on wealth/universal basic income & her call for a radical imagination to solve the racial wealth gap; Prosperity Now presents data on the structural obstacles to Black women’s wellbeing; Urban Institute on the wealth gap for Black women)

As such, Black women hold significant decision-making power in this organization and continue to be central in the design of this gift-making and programming.

We center the leadership of Black women. As an interracial coalition, we collectively recognize that those who are most impacted by the oppressions we seek to end are those who are most equipped with the strategies to end that oppression.

We center the joy and well-being of Black women. We understand that thriving involves more than money or conventional definitions of success.

We support Black women in defining what success means individually. We trust in each woman’s wisdom and provide gifts to support their pursuit of visions for their own autonomy.

We are disrupting toxic patterns of control within philanthropy and are committed to reducing harm in a restorative way.

We seek to dismantle white supremacy culture both inside our organization and in our communities.

We understand that white supremacy culture is a series of behaviors that uphold systemic racism. We seek to unlearn that culture and embrace ways of being that are in alignment with our vision for a more just world.