The State of Black Philanthropy: Houston Edition

About the SoBP

The State of Black Philanthropy: Houston Edition (SoBP) is the Bayou Collective’s signature public event that brings Houston together for an honest conversation about Black giving, past, present, and future.

  • Our 2027 gathering will be held on the evening of Wednesday, August 4, 2027. Follow us for more details.

  • Nearly 100 leaders joined us for our inaugural State of Black Philanthropy: Houston Edition 2026. Our event featured:
    🎤 Councilwoman Tiffany D. Thomas — Houston City Council Member, District F and Associate Professor, Prairie View A&M University

    ​🎤 Niiobli Armah IV — Founder & CEO, We Collab and Co-Founder of Houston Black Leadership Institute

    ​🎤 Lyndsie A. Whitehead, Ph.D. — Associate Director of Philanthropy, Rice University

    ​🎤 LaTanya Flix — Convener, Black Philanthropy Houston and Founder of SeedSwell

    You can check out our event pictures here.

    In honor of Black Philanthropy Month, Kindred Stories curated a reading list just for The Bayou Collective. It covers the history and the present-day practice of Black giving, from mutual aid to modern-day trust-based philanthropy. Want to deepen your knowledge about Black giving? Order a book and give back to Kindred Stories. Browse the full list here: https://bookshop.org/lists/black-philanthropy-month-picks. If you have a book recommendation that's not on the list, share it with us!


    In 2026, we talked about what it takes to build real trust between Black-led organizations and the people who fund them. We also talked about how giving together, instead of alone, gives Black-led organizations more power and more access. Someone in the room put it plainly: we're the only racial group with so many options, pointing to the sheer range of Black collective spaces we've built over generations, our civic groups, our fraternities and sororities, our cultural organizations. And collective take-away: our political organizing has to match our philanthropy.

    2026 Houston Black Donor Survey
    See how our community's giving interests and priorities have evolved from 2019 to 2026. Explore the slide deck and graphics for a look at what's changed  and what's stayed the same at: https://blackphilanthropyhouston.org/black-donor-survey.

    Thank you to everyone who partnered with us to make the night possible.

  • “Their strategic framework aligned our disparate processes and produced measurable gains within one quarter.”

    -- Former Customer

  • “We observed immediate efficiency improvements after the implementation plan was executed precisely as outlined.”

    -- Valued Client

  • “Clear communication and rigorous analysis distinguished the team from prior vendors we engaged.”

    -- Procurement Lead