Team:
Mary Gray
Elle Kemp
Investing in Black women leaders and community-led solutions through the Village Fund
The Village Fund is a cohort-based grant program designed and led by Black women as part of Los Angeles County’s African American Infant and Maternal Mortality (AAIMM) Prevention Initiative. Built on the belief that communities closest to the issues are best positioned to solve them, The Village Fund partners with trusted grassroots organizations to support Black birthing families—providing flexible funding, peer learning, capacity building, and community connection.
This learning report captures the remarkable growth and impact of The Village Fund’s first cohort of eight organizations across LA County. Grantees describe the Fund as transformative—launching organizations, deepening community roots, and building networks and leadership that outlasted the grant period itself. The report also offers grantee-informed recommendations for how trust-based, community-centered funding models like this one can be strengthened and expanded.
Photo Credit: Luna & Sol
