National Black United Fund

In 1972, the National Black United Fund (NBUF) was founded as a black philanthropic institution whose purpose was to enhance the quality of life for black people and empower the African American community. The genesis of the NBUF is linked directly to the Brotherhood Crusade, which was created in Los Angeles in 1968 by a group of concerned black activists led by Walter Bremond of the Cummins Engine Foundation. These activists were inspired by the civil rights and social change movements of the era to create a group to promote charitable fund-raising in the black community. The Brotherhood Crusade's mission was to create a systematic and strategic model for black fund-raising and black self-help.

In 1972, some nationally recognized black leaders sought to establish a network that would link the movement for social change with independent fund-raising efforts from around the country. Among these black leaders were the Reverend Negail Riley, the Reverend Dr. Leon Sullivan, Quincy Jones, Dr. Dorothy Height, Leroy Jones (later known as Amiri Baraka), and Lucius Walker, all of whom would serve as founding members on the National Board of Directors. With grant support from the Cummins Engine Foundation, NBUF was incorporated in New York and located its national headquarters in Harlem. Walter Bremond served as the organization's first executive director, and James Josephs, president of the Cummins Engine Foundation, became chairman of the board. Affiliate organizations immediately sprang up in major urban centers such as New York, Detroit, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, and Houston.

NBUF's overall mission was to find ways for the black community to fund its own liberation struggle. NBUF challenged social inequities and the unequal distribution of power in American society. Most important, it created a viable, systematic, and cost-efficient mechanism for black Americans to make charitable contributions to black organizations engaged in social change and the development of black human potential. Funding programs that focused on human services, community development, social policy development, social advocacy, and cooperative economics were given top priority.

During its initial stage of development, NBUF relied primarily on foundation support and payroll deductions as a means to support the work of the organization. Workplace giving was viewed as an appropriate fund-raising strategy since most black income was derived from salaries. Being cognizant of the high percentage of African Americans employed by the federal government (including in military service), NBUF recognized that the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) program, which permitted federal employees to contribute directly to nonprofit organizations through payroll deductions, could provide a stable and reliable source of revenue for the organization and its affiliates. However, NBUF was initially denied entrance to the CFC program. In response, in 1976 NBUF legally challenged the unfair, discriminatory practices of the CFC. In 1980, NBUF secured the legal right to enter the CFC program when a federal court ruled that the organization's constitutional rights had been violated. This breakthrough allowed myriad other “alternative” charitable organizations to benefit from federal employee campaigns that had previously been dominated by the United Way of America.

Walter Bremond continued to provide visionary leadership for the organization until his death in 1982. However, following his death, NBUF board members [Page 359]engaged in a bitter and eventually destructive struggle over the control of the organization. As a result, many prominent board members departed, leaving NBUF in a state of disarray. It was several years before Dana Alston was selected as the permanent executive director. Under Alston's leadership (1985–1987), NBUF continued to expand its mission, focusing on affiliate development, environmental concerns, and women's issues as part of its overall program objectives. In 1987, William T. Merritt assumed the position of CEO and president of the organization. Under his leadership, NBUF incorporated the National Black United Federation of Charities (NBUFC)—a federation of over 45 national black nonprofit organizations engaged in social justice, policy advocacy, community development, and charitable services—and expanded its mission to include wealth and asset building for individuals, families, and nonprofit organizations in the black community.

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