LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Urban League announced Friday it has received an $8 million investment towards its Path Forward goal of $50 million.
Sadiqa Reynolds said the work outlined in the Path Forward vision is now fueled by that investment in the Louisville Urban League. According to its website, the Path Forward document was first released in June of this year and contains over 50 community leads.
The investment is from Blue Meridian Partners, a New York-based philanthropic group that finds and funds scalable solutions across American. Problems that limit economic mobility for young people and families. It will be applied towards the $50 million request the signers made to city leaders in July, according to a news release from the Louisville Urban League.
The Urban League hopes this inspires local funders to step up, match and exceed this funding that has come from outside of our city and state.
“This is a wonderful beginning on what we know will be a long-term initiative as we carve our path forward. We are incredibly grateful for this investment in Louisville's Black community,” said Sadiqa Reynolds, President and CEO of the Louisville Urban League. “We understand that an investment in us, is an investment for all of us. Now, it is up to local government, corporate, and philanthropic leaders to match this investment for those who have been systematically and structurally locked out.”
Reynolds said the Louisville Urban League will use the two-year investment to span multiple sectors, directly address stated goals in the Path document, and strategically focus on creating wealth-building pathways and resources for Black families in the West End and across the city.
“We are excited to be investing in the innovations happening in Louisville and were compelled by the vision outlined in “A Path Forward”, shared Tomeka Wigginton, Managing Director at Blue Meridian Partners. “We understand strong place-based partnerships are critical to disrupting the link between one’s zip code and one’s life chances. Louisville Urban League’s ability to convene and build strong partnerships in the community is a great asset for the work ahead. We look forward to supporting them.”
A global pandemic and the collective fight for justice for Breonna Taylor are what fused the original Path signers together, the news release states.
See the full Path Forward vision document here.
The investment comes two days after the urban leagued announced a partnership with Thorntons for a not-for-profit storefront at the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center in West Louisville.