Black Impact Collaborative

To identify and illuminate the needs of Black people in Greater Grand Rapids in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Black Impact Collaborative organized a committee structure across seven Impact Areas to influence policymakers, nonprofits, businesses, philanthropic institutions and others to mitigate against pre-COVID-19 conditions, respond to the immediate needs of COVID-19, and increase positive outcomes for Black people in Greater Grand Rapids. The issue areas spanned across: rapid response fund for direct relief, communications, health & well-being, economic security, education, incarcerated persons, and elders. Our strategic plan, as we do work beyond COVID, continues to span the 7 Impact Areas and this document outlines our current and future work.

The Black Impact Collaborative (BIC) is a group of organizations formed to identify and illuminate the needs of Black people in Greater Grand Rapids in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Because Black Impact Collaborative recognized earlier on the adage that “when America gets a cold, Black America gets the flu” (and in this case, when the world get a pandemic, Black America gets something that is absolutely otherworldly), we mobilized quickly, strategized effectively, and galvanized the moment and community leaders within the Black community, as well as across, to minimize as much pain and death as possible.