The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGN or BLMGNF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to promoting the Black Lives Matter movement. The organization is often mistaken for other organizations within the Black Lives Matter movement because it often solely employs the phrase "Black Lives Matter" as its name and it also owns the domain name as its official website. In 2015, BLMGN was the largest and most well-funded organization within the broader Black Lives Matter social movement, and it claims to speak on behalf of the movement. Efforts which were started in late 2020 by its then executive director Patrisse Cullors began to centralize its operations.
The organization was founded in 2013 by three female activists. International but largely based in the United States, the organization advocates for the eradication of systemic racism and the prevention of police violence. Among its core beliefs is that the entire US legal system, mainstream media, and society is inherently white supremacist; and that "policing at-large is an irredeemable institution" and should be defunded.
The organization has been criticized for its statements in support of Marxism, its handling of its finances, and for using its influence with media platforms to suppress negative stories about itself and investigating journalists who publish such stories. The BLMGNF has also been accused of long-term financial mismanagement such as the purchase of mansions, providing lucrative contracts to companies owned by relatives of its founders and a lack of transparency in their fundraisers.
Organization The organization exists as a decentralized network of local-based chapters. According to its website , there are over 40 chapters. Each local chapter is expected to embrace the set principles of the BLMGN, but it is allowed to internally organize itself in any way it pleases. Each chapter can form its own agenda, so some chapters are more radical than others. Local chapters are mostly funded via direct donations, but they can also apply for more funding from the BLMGN.
BLMGN was initially created by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi in 2013. Garza and Tometi have since left the organization, but still speak at events and keep in contact with Cullors.
On October 9, 2020, the establishment of two new BLM organizations was announced to the public: the Black Lives Matter Political Action Committee (BLM PAC), and BLM Grassroots. Under this new organizational structure, the BLMGN is supposed to serve as the "fundraising body, the grantmaking entity, the amplifier, and the action-oriented think tank of the movement," while BLM Grassroots will continue to perform the actions of its chapters and the BLM PAC will push for political change. In November 2020, Patrisse Cullors, the sole BLMGN board member, was appointed executive director of the BLMGN.
Before handling donations directly, BLMGN was previously funded by donations and grants which it received from the Black Lives Matter Support Fund, which was hosted on the donation platform Tides as of July 2, 2020. According to Tides, the BLMGN made the move after its previous fiscal sponsor, Thousand Currents, decided to discontinue its fiscal sponsorships in order to focus on its core grantmaking work.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is a member of the coalition organization Movement for Black Lives.
On April 27, 2022, the BLMGN announced that its expanded Board of Directors will include Cicley Gay, D'zhane Parker and Shalomyah Bowers.
Black Lives Matter Political Action Committee In 2015, an unaffiliated PAC which is entitled the "Black Lives Matter PAC LLC" was established by St. Louis based activists. Alicia Garza stated that the PAC was in no way endorsed by the BLMGN and she also stated that BLM was not interested in endorsing political candidates. When the Democratic National Committee adopted a resolution in solidarity with the movement in late August 2015 in which it specifically mentioned the BLMGN's founders, a statement on the BLMGN Facebook page stated that "[w]e do not now, nor have we ever, endorsed or affiliated with the Democratic Party, or with any party. The Democratic Party, like the Republican and all political parties, have historically attempted to control or contain black people's efforts to liberate ourselves. True change requires real struggle, and that struggle will be in the streets and led by the people, not by a political party."
After the departure of Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, the remaining BLMGN founder Patrisse Cullors announced the establishment of the first BLMGN-sponsored political action committee, the Black Lives Matter Political Action Committee, in the October 9, 2020, 2020 Impact Report document. The move was noted as being unusual for a grassroots movement with no central leadership. The BLM PAC announced plans to endorse a slate of candidates ahead of the general election. Since its founding as a Super-PAC, BLM PAC has notably supported Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff during the 2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia and 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia, respectively.
Black Lives Matter Grassroots The establishment of Black Lives Matter Grassroots and the establishment of the BLM PAC were simultaneously announced on October 9, 2020, in the "2020 Impact Report" document. It seeks to retain the original BLM movement's origins and unify its many chapters under the new BLM Grassroots name. It pushes for more unified, targeted stances on various issues which impact the black community, along with social and economic justice in general.
History Formation After the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012, activist Alicia Garza woke up crying in the middle of the night and decided to write about her emotions in a Facebook post. In the post, Garza stated that she was surprised "at how little Black lives matter". The post would inspire Garza's friend Patrisse Cullors to create the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on July 15, 2013. Garza and Cullors would reach out to their associate Opal Tometi to help establish Tumblr and Twitter accounts using the hashtag and where users could share relevant personal stories. Garza put the "Black Lives Matter" slogan on signs and displayed them in a local shoe shop. Cullors led a march down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills with the slogan on her sign. Eventually, the slogan and hashtag would gain popularity.
The first chapter of the BLMGN organization would be organized in Los Angeles in 2013 with the help of Melina Abdullah. The first chapter would consist of 30 people, notably artists, students, organizers, and mothers.
Early activities
During 2014 protests in Ferguson Garza, Cullors, and Tometi organized "Freedom Rides" to Ferguson. 500 people would sign up and travel to Ferguson in these "Freedom Rides". Protesters throughout Ferguson would adopt the slogan "Black Lives Matter" throughout the months-long protests. The organization's involvement in protests in Ferguson and the slogan's popularity brought the organization and the Black Lives Matter movement to national attention. New found popularity sparked a rise of other Black Lives Matter organizations that were independent of the BLMGN, as well as new chapters of the BLMGN forming in other cities.
By August 31, 2015, BLMGN claimed 26 chapters nationwide.
On September 6, 2016, the International Development Exchange (IDEX, now known as Thousand Currents) announced a new partnership in which IDEX provided "fiduciary oversight, financial management, and other administrative services to BLM." As a 501(c)(3) organization, IDEX could receive tax-deductible grants, donations and gifts on behalf of BLM. The announcement highlighted providing "learning exchange and alliance building opportunities" between the 'BLM Network' and IDEX's partners in Africa. At this time, IDEX stated BLMGN had 37 chapters within the US and 5 outside.
George Floyd protests and subsequent growth After the murder of George Floyd and later protests many people tried to donate money to the BLMGN but often accidentally donated money to a similarly named organization called the "Black Lives Matter Foundation." The BLMGN would itself receive around 1.1 million donations averaging about $33 each after the murder of George Floyd. The BLMGN would soon create a 12 million dollar fund to aid its local chapters activities and other independent grassroots organizations.
BLMGN received millions worth of donations from several large corporations, including but not limited to: Amazon, which donated part of 10M to BLMGN; Coca-Cola, which donated $500,000; Microsoft, which donated $250,000; Airbnb, which donated $500,000; Intel, which donated part of 1M; and Google, which donated part of 2.35M. Some of the largest donations to BLMGN among major celebrities included: Korean boyband BTS, which donated 1M directly to BLMGN and whose fans then matched with another 1.2M donated in part to BLMGN; and singer-songwriter The Weeknd who gave $250,000 to BLMGN in 2016, and another $200,000 in 2020. CharityWatch Executive Director Laurie Styron claimed that public support received from major corporations and public figures in the wake of the George Floyd protests likely motivated small-dollar donors into giving to the group.
BLMGN claimed $90 million in donations for 2020, with an end-year balance of $60 million. BLMGN wanted to scale their activity in proportion to their incoming finances, leading to $21.7 million in grants to Black Lives Matter chapters and other POC-led activist groups.
On May 27, 2021, Patrisse Cullors announced she was stepping down from her role as executive director of BLMGN to focus on the upcoming release of her second book and multi-year TV development deal with Warner Bros. Two new interim senior executives were brought aboard to steer the organization for the immediate future: Monifa Bandele, a longtime BLM organizer and founder of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement in New York City, and Makani Themba, an early backer of the BLM movement and chief strategist at Higher Ground Change Strategies in Jackson, Mississippi. The move came amidst controversy over Patrisse Cullors' recent purchases of real estate, the foundation's finances, and her personal wealth. Cullors' claimed that the controversy was an attempt to discredit her character.
Sometime between May and June 2021, BLMGN met Biden-Harris White House officials to discuss their agenda. During the meeting, BLMGN leaders expressed disappointment in the administration's handling of issues relating to Black people. CNBC claimed this lead some to believe the organization may have less clout within the Biden White House than it had hoped for.
On September 3, 2021, Monifa Bandele and Makani Themba issued a statement stating that "although a media advisory was released indicating that we were tapped to play the role of Senior Co-Executives at BLMGNF, we were not able to come to an agreement with the acting Leadership Council about the scope of our work and authority. As a result, we did not have the opportunity to serve in this capacity. We wanted to be sure to inform our community of this fact as we move on to serve our movement in other ways."
As of mid-2021, BLMGN had spent more than half of the $90 million it made in 2020 on smaller organizations, consultants, including $840,993 annually to Paul Cullors, a family member of Patrisse Cullors, and real estate, leaving BLMGN with $42 million in assets.
In March 2023, Adidas withdrew a lawsuit without prejudice related to BLMGNF's trademarking a design of three parallel stripes claiming it would confuse customer's with Adidas' own three stripe branding. A source close to the company told Reuters the about-turn was due to fears people would misinterpret Adidas' trademark objection with opposition to BLMGNF's mission.