Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute is the 501(c)(3) arm of the Black Voters Matter trio of organizations (the others being Black Voters Matter Fund and Black Voters Matter Action PAC) focused on building left-of-center activism and supporting local Black organizations. The organization distributes millions of dollars to local organizations and is especially concerned with combatting what it considers to be voter suppression. ^{1 2 3}

Founding and History

Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute was founded in 2017, along with Black Voters Matter Fund, in order to grow the power of local black communities and increase voter turnout. It is especially active in Southern states and issues millions of dollars in grants to local organizations. ^{4 5}

The Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute is focused on building power in Black communities, with an emphasis on local control and groups that are already working on the local level. The group also emphasizes engagement beyond election season, and states that it also desires to work with smaller black communities in rural areas and small cities. ⁶

Finances

In 2020, Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute had $22,812,036 in revenue. This was more than five times larger than the previous year, when the organization had $3,457,565 in revenue, and is likely attributable to the emphasis on racial issues that year related to the death of George Floyd. It had $14,790,264 in expenses, of which roughly half ($7,611,543) was paid out in grants and $1,484,911 was for salaries and compensation. The organization ended the year with $10,111,047 in net assets, an increase from $2,089,295 at the end of the previous year. ⁷

Leadership

Latosha Brown is the co-founder and executive director of Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, along with the Black Voters Matter Fund and Black Voters Matter Action PAC. She is a principal at TruthSpeaks Consulting, a philanthropic consulting firm. She has worked in the nonprofit industry for more than 25 years and is also the founder of Grantmakers for Southern Progress. ⁸

Brown is available to speak through the Keppler Speakers bureau, for which her speaking fee ranges from $10,000 to $20,000. Her speech topics include “The Death of Democracy: Voter Suppression in the 21st Century” where she argues that minority voters are being suppressed by a variety of tactics, such as voter roll maintenance. ⁹

Cliff Albright is the co-founder of Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, along with Black Voters Matter Fund and Black Voters Matter Action PAC. He was especially active during the 2017 U.S. Senate special election in Alabama to help elect Democratic candidate Doug Jones and has engaged in a variety of activist efforts to expose what he characterizes as voter suppression. He teaches African American studies and hosts a weekly radio show in the Atlanta area. ¹⁰

Albright is also the principal at Strategic Cliff Notes, a left-of-center focused philanthropic consulting firm in the Atlanta area. ¹¹

In 2020 he was a Soros Equity Fellow, and he gives speeches through the Keppler Speakers bureau, through which he gives talks on the subject of voter suppression and economic power. ¹²

1. “Our Work.” Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://bvmcapacitybuilding.org/our-work-2/.
2. Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020, Part I
3. “Our Team.” Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://bvmcapacitybuilding.org/our-work/.
4. “Our Work.” Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://bvmcapacitybuilding.org/our-work-2/.
5. Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020, Part I
6. “Our Work.” Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://bvmcapacitybuilding.org/our-work-2/.
7. ^[1] Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020, Part I
8. “Our Team.” Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://bvmcapacitybuilding.org/our-work/.
9. “LaTosha Brown | Keppler Speakers.” Keppler Speakers. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/latosha-brown/speech-topics.
10. “Our Team.” Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://bvmcapacitybuilding.org/our-work/.
11. “Cliff Albright.” LinkedIn.com. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliff-albright-b529637/.
12. “Cliff Albright | Keppler Speakers.” Keppler Speakers. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/cliff-albright/speech-topics.