Black History Month

For nearly 100 years, we've celebrated and honored the contributions of Black Americans to U.S. history. Black History Month was first celebrated as 1 week in February to coincide with the birthdays of abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. We encourage everyone, of all identities, to take extra time this month to center, honor, and learn about the notable influence and contributions of Black Americans. In addition, volunteering and giving are important actions, giving back time and dollars to organizations or community efforts that not only impact but are led by Black Americans is critical.

  • 'Engage your purpose-driven workforce through virtual and hybrid volunteering experiences' with our partner, Goodera. Your team can use their services to record a book for elementary students, for example.

  • Promote giving to organizations that support anti-racism, equity, and equality using a keyword search banner. Keyword search banners can be configured by your Customer Success Manager. Here are some keywords to consider this month:

    • Justice, Equity, Racial, Freedom, Civil Rights, Activism, Black Lives Matter, BLM, Martin Luther King Jr., MLK, Malcolm X, Racism, Emancipation, African-American, Black History Month, BHM

  • Work with your CSM to craft an inclusion list of organizations that support Civil Rights using the Civil Rights - R20 NTEE Code. This list can be used to offer special matching gifts or volunteer grant programs during the month.

    • To highlight organizations your employees have already supported, pull an All Giving Report and filter by this NTEE Code. Highlight these organizations in an Engagement Elements (EEs) or feature them on Search Organizations.

Set aside some time to look at your current programs through the lens of diversity and inclusion research. Here is a quick round-up of blogs from the YourCause team:

Events planned to celebrate Black History Month should be curated in order to expand an individual's knowledge, share with others, and get involved in their communities. Examples could include:

Bring energy to your team and create a shared playlist to honor the many contributions people of African descent have made to music and our world.

Promote taking moments that matter throughout the month and highlight readings to explore during this time.

Consider using Volunteer Manager to facilitate the details in one event with multiple shifts named for each experience. This can make it easier to offer a special incentive like Volunteer Time off or a Cause Card/General Incentive for attending the special events.

Whether you're linking to a saved search of volunteer events and projects, highlighting a Standard EE, or linking to a Keyword Search Banner, don't forget to make an impact with your Splash modals .

If you don't have access to stock photos of your own, consider using this collection of images with a creative commons license that we have gathered .