Twin Brothers Derrick and Desmon Lewis, both Bronxites, recognized the incredible unmet need to support organizations providing services to help improve the environment in which nonprofits, businesses and Bronxites operate and live. More importantly, having lived experiences of those challenges, they recognized the need for a Community Foundation to foster the creation of innovative, participatory, place-based collaborative solution building to rapidly solve those challenges Bronxites face every single day in addition to building opportunities for Bronxites to thrive. They founded The Bronx Community Foundation in 2017 to mobilize resources to support Bronxites in a unique and innovative way.
The Foundation uses collective impact models and assessment methods with our partners, donors, and collaborators to meet the shared outcomes of increasing economic security, advancing inclusivity and sustainability, advocating for social, economic, environmental, and racial justice, increasing access to quality education, strengthening community resiliency and vitality, accelerating innovation, and directing resources to support generational change throughout The Bronx.
To make significant progress, we take a strategic role in defining a community-wide common agenda and taking a collaborative philanthropic approach toward solving challenges. We accomplish this through engaging organizations and individuals from across all stakeholder groups – public, private, non-profit and citizens.
The common agenda approach allows for a strategic and collaborative approach and empowers partners to co-identify priority areas, undertake quick wins, and set ourselves up for the development of a common agenda that all parties agree to and create system and institutional change. Once a common agenda is defined, we fund, create, and help to lead strategic engagements focused on solving those challenges.