Let Us Breathe Fund

Let Us Breathe Fund is sponsored by North Star Fund. This fund supports Black-led organizations engaging in grassroots organizing in New York City and the Hudson Valley. It mobilizes resources to provide renewable, general operating support grants to address the philanthropic sector's historic disinvestment in Black communities and Black-led efforts for social change.

Let Us Breathe Fund - North Star Fund Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) The Let Us Breathe Fund is the only New York-based fund led by and for Black activists organizing around police reform and building Black liberation. We started the Fund in 2015 following the death of Eric Garner at the hands of the NYPD.

The Fund provided rapid response in that crisis moment and now supports the long-term leadership of Black New Yorkers fighting police violence and structural racism. Since 2015 the fund has awarded over $8. 9 million in grants.

Some of that is a result of our 2021 commitment to expand the fund by $2 million . In the wake of George Floyd’s killing in Minnesota and its devastating similarity to Eric Garner’s death, communities across NYC and the nation began marching under “I Can’t Breathe” banners in unprecedented protests against anti-Black racism and police violence.

In 2020, we witnessed Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities face the compounding crises of the COVID-19 pandemic while also envisioning and leading calls for systemic change across all sectors. This led to renewed attention within philanthropy to answer calls to increase support for BIPOC leadership in addressing institutional racism.

Individual New Yorkers and our allies in philanthropy responded to these calls by mobilizing an unprecedented level of resources. Historic moments like these require an ecosystem of groups to make demands and to implement transformative change. We cannot predict how the long-overdue reckoning that began in 2020 will unfold.

What we hope is that the challenge we seek to address—building and sustaining a deeply underfunded Black-led organizing infrastructure in the city—will have new champions, including you. Join the New Yorkers who have contributed to the Let Us Breathe Fund. Wondering if you can get a grant from the fund?

Have questions about the current guidelines and deadlines? We’ve got answers for you. Let Us Breathe Community Funding Committee These are the local leaders who make the funding decisions for the Let Us Breathe Fund.

Why the “Let Us Breathe” Fund? We started the Let Us Breathe Fund in 2015 as a call to action to New York philanthropic entities to build specific, long-term commitments to Black-led organizing and social change that confronts racialized capitalism. Years later, still less than 5% of philanthropic dollars are invested in social justice movements.

Far less is committed to Black-led organizations led by community members most impacted by injustice. This must change. The catastrophic crises of this year demand it.

We must fully and robustly resource the leadership and creativity of emerging Black activists to reshape our city. We invite you to join us. How is the Let Us Breathe Fund unique?

The Let Us Breathe Fund moves donor resources strategically so that organizers on the ground can sustain the current momentum, and advance deeper policy, political and cultural change. The Let Us Breathe Fund prioritizes Black-led and allied organizing of communities directly impacted by “broken windows” policing, poverty, and injustice in New York City.

The Let Us Breathe Fund puts decision-making in the hands of experienced community activists , who understand priorities and have relationships in local communities. Support the Let Us Breathe Fund For more information about the Let Us Breathe Fund, contact Kofo Anifalaje at kofo@northstarfund. org .

Or make a commitment to Black-led organizing with a contribution to the Let Us Breathe Fund .

Victories from Let Us Breathe Grantees In just a few years, the Let Us Breathe Fund has supported the leadership of Black organizers developing and leading critical campaigns in New York City, including: The creation of a Special Prosecutor for police-related violence—the first in the country Reshaping the state Parole Board The passage of the “consent to search” portion of the Right to Know Act Winning campaigns for Black migrants in detention Bringing restorative justice programs to NYC schools Winning the passage of the Repeal 5OA campaign in the legislature Relentlessly advocating for the hearing that resulted in the firing of the officer who killed Eric Garner in an illegal chokehold Their work is ongoing, and that’s why we’re committed to supporting these grantees for the long haul.

Grantee Lists and Other Let Us Breathe Updates Ten Years of the Let Us Breathe Fund: Voices of the Let Us Breathe Fund Story Collection The Let Us Breathe Fund A Decade of Defiance2015–2025Story CollectionWe’re celebrating 10 years of the Let Us Breathe Fund! It’s still the only fund in New York where Black...

The Freedom Function: A Gathering to Honor 10 Years of the Let Us Breathe Fund On June 25, 2026, North Star Fund hosted an intimate gathering to honor and celebrate 10 years of the Let Us Breathe Fund. The event—The Freedom Function—was held in a beautiful... A Decade of Defiance: Ten Years of The Let Us Breathe Fund We’re celebrating ten years of the Let Us Breathe Fund.

It’s still the only fund in New York where Black organizers award grants to Black-led grassroots groups. Grants are...