As we ring in the new year, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative looks ahead to a year of investment and growth.

Our work is guided by three strategic pillars that allow us to deepen our commitment to accelerating intergenerational wealth while interrupting the systemic extraction of wealth from Black communities. 

1.  Strengthening Black families’ opportunities to own assets and reduce debt.
2.  Working with leaders to prioritize and accelerate racial wealth equity agendas.
3.  Driving equitable transfer of Black wealth across generations.

• Committing $100 million to the nation’s four historically Black medical schools (HBMS) to reduce the debt burden of future Black doctors and contributing an additional $6 million to these medical schools to expand their mobile-unit COVID-19 vaccine operations in Black communities. To date, 63% of Debt Reduction Program graduates have been matched to one of their top 3 residency choices, and 62% of graduates are providing care in underserved communities. 

• Investing in the Black Wealth Data Center, which features a Racial Wealth Equity Database, to support public and private sector decision-makers' access to data needed to advance progress toward racial wealth equity. 
• Addressing underrepresentation in STEM fields by creating pathways for students from historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions to pursue PhDs in STEM fields at Johns Hopkins University through the first cohort of Vivien Thomas Scholars.

• Supporting the expansion of local government-led financial stability efforts for Black residents through Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund’s CityStart initiative.
• Helping 1,200 first graders in Brooklyn get a head start on college and career savings with NYC Kids RISE. By giving each student $1,000, this program addresses closing the racial wealth divide and promotes economic success for the next generation.