Anti Racism Fund

What Anti Racism Fund does

Anti Racism Fund (ARF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2020 and fiscally sponsored by the Telos Foundation, operating from New York, NY (with a mailing address in Fenton, MO) and a team of approximately 8 employees. ARF functions as a fashion-industry-anchored grant-making vehicle that mobilizes donor capital from apparel brands, executives, and individuals into Black-led social-justice organizations, organized around four pillars: Justice System Reform, Education Parity, Health & Wellness Access, and Community Outreach & Social Justice Advocacy. Its operating model is a 60-day rotating initiative, in which each cycle spotlights a specific beneficiary organization (e.g., Bail Project, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Loveland Foundation) or program (e.g., RAISEfashion Internship, Homecoming Initiative with HBCUs, current Silver Art Projects campaign).

The organization's product surface includes the 60-day initiative campaigns, the RAISEfashion paid internship program, the I AM Digital Zine editorial sub-brand, and partner programming with HBCUs and arts organizations. Underlying technology is minimal: the donation infrastructure is built on Shopify, and the organization does not disclose any proprietary platforms, models, or data assets. Revenue mechanics are pure philanthropic fundraising, with cumulative gross inflows of approximately $1,103,746 across 1,205 donors since founding — implying an average gift of roughly $916 and a long-tail, retail-style donor base rather than anchor-funder dependence. The organization has built brand credibility through coverage in Vogue, Women's Wear Daily, Business of Fashion, Fashionista, and Harvard Business School outlets, and is led by founders and board members Lindsey Ferguson, Sesana Allen, Ken Chenault Jr., Kevin Chenault, Carter Lewis, and Nicolle Mora.

Name

Anti Racism Fund

Legal name

ARF Inc

Website

https://antiracismfund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Anti Racism Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2020 that channels fashion-industry donor capital into Black-led social-justice organizations through 60-day rotating initiatives spanning justice reform, education parity, health access, and advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Fundraising and Charitable Giving

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF)

Keywords

• Nonprofit fundraising platform
• Social justice funding
• Racial equity initiatives
• Charitable donation pooling
• Community advocacy grants

Headquarters

HQ city

NY, New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: ARF generates revenue through donations from individuals and organizations. Contributions are tax-deductible through their fiscal sponsor, the Telos Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The organization implements a 60-day rotating initiative model where donations are directed to specific current initiatives.
2. Initiative-Based Capital Deployment: ARF pools donations into a dynamic, initiative-focused portfolio. They provide capital to organizations aligned with their Four Pillars of Purpose, which include Justice System Reform, Education Parity, Health & Wellness Access, and Community Outreach & Social Justice Advocacy.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Anti Racism Fund (ARF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that pools donations from individuals and deploys capital to a hand-selected portfolio of vetted organizations aligned with its Four Pillars of Purpose: Justice System Reform, Education Parity, Health & Wellness Access, and Community Outreach & Social Justice Advocacy. The organization operates a 60-day rotating initiative model, conducting due diligence on recipient organizations (501(c)(3) verification, Charity Navigator, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, GuideStar review), and provides tax-deductible giving through its fiscal sponsor, the Telos Foundation.

Product overview

Anti Racism Fund (ARF) is a non-profit organization that operates as a donation pooling and capital deployment mechanism rather than a traditional technology product. ARF connects donors with a hand-selected portfolio of organizations aligned with their Four Pillars of Purpose: Health & Wellness Access, Community Outreach & Social Justice Advocacy, Justice System Reform, and Education Parity. The organization implements a 60-day rotating initiative model, directing funds to current causes including the Silver Art Projects Initiative (supporting artists with free studio spaces), the I AM Digital Zine (a grassroots publication amplifying Black creatives), and the RAISE Fashion x ARF Internship Program (professional development for HBCU students). Past initiatives have supported The Bail Project, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Equal Justice Initiative, and various HBCUs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• I AM: A grassroots digital zine that unites world-renowned and emerging creatives to provide a space for celebration, healing, and education through art in the movement for Black lives. Focused on highlighting Black creatives and serving as an accessible tool for those striving to be allies.

Products and services

• Silver Art Projects Initiative
• I AM Digital Zine
• RAISE Fashion x ARF Internship Program
• The Subscribe To Change Initiative
• The Take Action Initiative
• The Homecoming Initiative

Quantifiable outcome

• $1,103,746 raised for ARF initiatives
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Silver Art ProjectscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021ARF's current initiative supports Silver Art Projects, a non-profit providing free year-long studio spaces at 4 World Trade Center, career-focused mentorship, and community-driven patronage for overlooked artists. ARF donated $100,000 from July 2021 to October 2022.
• RAISEfashioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Partnership on a comprehensive 10-week professional development program for students from HBCUs. The internship program provides summer opportunities for Black-identifying students to build careers in fashion. ARF deployed $74,000 for this initiative.
• HBCU Partners (13 schools)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 202113 HBCUs participating in RAISEfashion x ARF internship: Bowie State University, Clark State Atlanta University, Delaware State University, Florida A&M, Howard University, Morehouse College, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central University, Spelman College, Tennessee State, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
• Howard UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020Partner in Homecoming Initiative ($40,000 deployed, October 2020 - February 2021). One of the HBCUs supported in the initiative.
• Florida Agricultural and Mechanical UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020Partner in Homecoming Initiative. HBCU benefiting from the initiative focused on educational parity.
• Spelman CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020Partner in Homecoming Initiative. HBCU benefiting from the initiative focused on educational parity.
• Morehouse CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020Partner in Homecoming Initiative. HBCU benefiting from the initiative focused on educational parity.
• The Bail ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Partner in Subscribe To Change Initiative ($298,521 deployed). The Bail Project disrupts mass incarceration by providing cash bail to people in need.
• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational FundminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Partner in Subscribe To Change Initiative. America's premier legal organization fighting for racial justice.
• BAIminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Partner in Subscribe To Change Initiative. Black think and do tank providing HIV/AIDS services to Black communities.
• Equal Justice InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Partner in Subscribe To Change Initiative. Provides legal representation to people illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons.
• TGI Justice ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Partner in Subscribe To Change Initiative. Group of transgender, gender variant and intersex people creating a united family in the struggle for survival and freedom.
• The Loveland FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2020Partner in Take Action Initiative ($275,000 deployed). Committed to showing up for communities of color with a focus on Black women and girls.
• The Telos FoundationcoreOthersFiscal sponsor providing 501(c)(3) status enabling tax-deductible donations. The Telos Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization recognized by the IRS that serves as ARF's fiscal sponsor.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ford Foundation: Ford Foundation is one of the largest U.S. philanthropic foundations and a major funder of racial-justice and movement-infrastructure organizations. It is comparable as a much larger incumbent that defines the funding environment ARF operates in.
• National Urban League: National Urban League is a historic civil-rights and social-justice organization operating across education, health, and economic-equity pillars that closely parallel ARF's Four Pillars.
• NAACP: NAACP is the largest and oldest U.S. civil-rights organization. ARF has funded its Legal Defense and Educational Fund, positioning NAACP as both an incumbent civil-justice actor and a peer in mission scope.

Direct peers

• Color of Change: Color of Change is a racial-justice nonprofit that mobilizes its 7M+ members to drive donor and corporate action on civil-rights issues. Like ARF, it channels pooled donations into vetted advocacy and justice initiatives.
• Movement for Black Lives: Movement for Black Lives is an umbrella network of Black-led organizations pooling resources and coordinating grantmaking across racial-justice causes. Its pooled-funding structure mirrors ARF's rotating-initiative model.
• Solidaire (Solidarity Catalyst Network): Solidaire is a donor network that pools contributions from HNW individual donors to fund Black, Indigenous, and people-of-color-led movements. Its pooled HNW giving model directly parallels ARF's donor-aggregation approach.
• Thousand Currents: Thousand Currents is a pooled-giving intermediary that aggregates donor contributions and re-grants them to grassroots movements globally. Its pooled-grant model directly mirrors ARF's rotating-initiative deployment.
• Borealis Philanthropy: Borealis Philanthropy is a pooled movement-fund that aggregates donations from multiple donors into racial-justice and democracy initiatives. Its collaborative-giving model is structurally analogous to ARF's rotating initiatives.
• Equal Justice Initiative: Equal Justice Initiative is a racial-justice nonprofit providing legal representation and advocacy; ARF has directly funded it as a Subscribe to Change grantee. Comparable as a racial-justice org operating in ARF's criminal-justice pillar.
• Race Forward: Race Forward advances racial equity through research, narrative, and grantmaking to racial-justice organizations. It is comparable to ARF in mission focus on racial equity and its role as an intermediary funder.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/antiracismfund
• Facebookfacebook.com/Anti-Racism-Fund-116101633473878
• Instagraminstagram.com/antiracismfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/anti-racism-fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Anti Racism Fund