Building power to advance racial equity
across the American South
The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation partners with organizations and networks working to alleviate poverty and increase social and economic justice in 11 Southern states.
We support groups building power to advance racial equity along three primary pathways: democracy and civic engagement, supportive policies and institutions, and economic opportunity.
From grantmaking to investing, communications and organizational culture, we are committed to centering a race-forward intersectional analysis in everything we do.
Established in 1953 with a $12 million bequest from Mary Reynolds Babcock, in its early days the Foundation supported historically black colleges and universities, grassroots advocacy groups, voter education and government accountability work – a unique legacy for Southern family philanthropy.
The values that guided the Foundation in those days – democracy, equity, community and risk-taking – remain our North Star today.
The South Has Always Organized for Our Nation’s Democratic Ideals
This year’s America 250 commemorations have often presented the United States as a finished achievement, a steady march toward freedom, equity, and democracy. But that story can’t be told honestly…
Continue Reading → The South Has Always Organized for Our Nation’s Democratic Ideals
