Richard Merritt had long wanted to give a portion of his net worth to a cause he believed in. When that commitment became the seed gift for the Fund for Racial Equity, Merritt was clear-eyed about his intention. His own understanding of the importance of racial equity came from participation in ACT’s Racial Equity Learning Lab, and from Black colleagues, neighbors, and leaders who had been doing this work long before he joined it.
During his years on Alexandria’s Public Health Advisory Commission, Merritt learned a sobering truth: for decades, if not generations, Black adults in Alexandria have faced twice the risk of premature death (before age 75) as their White counterparts. And in many census tracts the risk was 400 to 500 percent. Such dramatic disparities convinced him that significant resources must be made available in the community to address them, and that the people best positioned to direct them were the ones closet to the problem.
That’s the structure ACT built with the Fund for Racial Equity. Rather than have staff or trustees decide how the money should be spent, ACT handed the decision-making power to a nine-member Community Advisory Board of Alexandria community members, including Merritt himself. Over two years, that board built a shared language around racial equity, wrote grant materials, conducted outreach in five languages, and led grantmaking from the ground up, awarding more than $200,000 to 29 nonprofits, grassroots groups, and community leaders.
This work wasn’t without its challenges. It required vulnerability, compromise, and an openness to different perspectives. The results, however, speak for themselves: vision screenings and free glasses, new playgroups for young children, special education workshops, housing policy informed by community voices, and expanded support for organizations serving people of color.
Merritt hoped a seed gift would inspire others to give. Instead, the Fund became something even greater. It is a model for what’s possible when community members set the priorities, make decisions and lead the work. Philanthropy funds the vision. It doesn’t shape it.