The Black United Fund of Illinois (BUFI)

The Black United Fund of Illinois (BUFI) is a Chicago-based philanthropic organization for African American nonprofits and businesses. Though its name might indicate that it supports statewide efforts, it is almost entirely focused on aiding Chicago’s South Side, particularly in its South Shore neighborhood.

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)
Website: bufi.org
Founded:

1985

Executive Director:

Carolyn Day

Location: Chicago, IL View on map
Tax ID: 36-3397908
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $1,266,156 Revenue: $2,478,004 Expenses: $2,189,808

Contents

    BUFI is an independent affiliate of the National Black United Fund (NBUF), a Newark, New Jersey-based philanthropic organization for African American communities with 23 affiliates across America. 1

    Founding and History

    Black United Fund of Illinois was founded in 1985 by Henry L. English, a prominent African American activist in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood. English, working alongside U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), served at one point as treasurer of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. 2

    Through English’s connections, BUFI was established as a leading grantmaking and philanthropic organization in Chicago’s South Side. Financed primarily by donations and worker payroll taxes, BUFI provides funding and working space for local small businesses and nonprofits. 3  As of 2019, BUFI claims to have assisted over 450 local programs. 4

    BUFI is also credited with laying the foundation for the Chicago Public Schools’ Safe Passage program, which uses a system of watchmen to ensure that children can get to and from their schools safely. Introduced in 2007 in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood, Chicago Public Schools took notice of BUFI’s program and adopted Safe Passage in districts throughout the city. 5

    English worked as the executive director for BUFI for over three decades, until he was killed in 2016 in a car crash. Three years later, English’s role was filled by Carolyn Day, a BUFI board member. 4

    Present Activities

    Black United Fund of Illinois continues to fund and incubate local businesses in its Entrepreneurial and Business Center, which shares space with the group’s South Side headquarters. 6

    BUFI also hosts its “Upward Bound” program, which provides mentorship and informative field trips for South Side Chicago youth, with the goal of promoting college readiness. 7

    Ties to the Democratic Party

    Though technically nonpartisan as an organization, Black United Fund of Illinois’ leadership has been outspoken in their support of the Democratic Party. Founder Henry L. English supported get-out-the-vote efforts for 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton; former chairman of the board and founding member Robert T. Starks was an advisor for both Jesse L. Jackson and former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington (D). 8

    Finances

    Black United Fund of Illinois’ most recent publicly available financial filings from 2019 show total revenues of $2,463,304 and total expenses of $2,438,619. According to the organization’s tax return, $2,357,001 in revenue came from government grants. 9

    Leadership

    The executive director of the Black United Fund of Illinois is Carolyn Day. Prior to becoming executive director of Black United Fund of Illinois, Day was the former executive director of Literacy Chicago, an educational nonprofit that works to end Chicago adulthood illiteracy. 4

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $1,266,156 $2,478,004 $2,189,808 View
    2023 $1,225,230 $2,508,128 $2,679,785 View
    2022 $1,325,633 $2,762,346 $2,705,210 View
    2021 $641,791 View
    2020 $1,285,734 $2,166,585 $2,241,913 View

    Prior year filings: 2019, 2018, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    • Number of Employees: 143

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Carolyn DayExecutive Dir.$95,469

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $1,463,664
    • Number of Grants: 53
    • Number of Funders: 42

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $200,0002021 United States Energy FoundationTO SUPPORT EDUCATION AND OUTREACH TO BUILD AN EQUITABLE CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE.
    $178,3022024 Public Health Institute of Metropolitan ChicagoPublic, Mental and Behavioral Health Services
    $66,0002022 Reva and David Logan FoundationSISTA AFYA COMMUNITY CARE NFP
    $60,0002022 Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.CAPACITY BUILDING
    $35,0002022 Healthy Communities FoundationGENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
    $34,0002022 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur FoundationX-Grant in support of a film screening and panel discussion on reparations.
    $32,0002021 New Venture FundHEALTH
    $30,0002021 Arie and Ida Crown MemorialPROGRAM SUPPORT
    $26,0002021 Chicago Beyond IncTo support the improvement the quality of life for African Americans through reliance on self-help at the local community level.
    $25,0002022 PolicyLinkCORE SUPPORT
    $25,0002021 Universal Music All Together Now Foundation IncWORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY
    $25,0002020 Tully Family FoundationIMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE BLACK COUMMUNITY
    $25,0002020 Chicago Beyond IncTo support the improvement the quality of life for African Americans through reliance on self-help at the local community level.
    $13,3502021 Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc.PUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT
    $10,4422022 American Online Giving Foundation IncGENERAL SUPPORT
    $10,0152023 Charities Aid Foundation of AmericaCHARITABLE DONATION
    $10,0002022 The Chicago Community TrustTo Support the work of Sister Afya's Community Care Program. the Black United Fund serves as a Fiscal Agent for Sister Afya.
    $10,0002022 SOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS CHICAGOGENERAL OPERATIONS
    $10,0002021 Begin Today for TomorrowGENERAL
    $10,0002021 Women's Sports FoundationPower of She Program
    $7,5002022 Frederick Henry Prince Testamentary TrustThe Equiticity Racial Equity Movement
    $6,1002022 Donor Advised Charitable Giving, Inc.PUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT
    $6,0002021 TWLOHA INCCOUNSELING SERVICES
    $5,0002022 Minneapolis Foundationgeneral operating support for Equiticity
    $2,8332021 Williams Family Charitable FoundationGeneral charitable purposes

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “History .” BUFI. Accessed December 25, 2021. https://bufi.org/bufi-history/.
    2.  Muhammad, Toure. Celebrating The Life And Legacy Of Henry L. English, March 22, 2016. https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_102971.shtml.
    3. Doster, Adam. “Bringing Mindful Balance to Chicago’s South Side.” Loyola University Chicago – Features. Accessed December 25, 2021. https://www.luc.edu/features/stories/equityandinclusion/lataniafranklin/.
    4. “Bufi Reboots with Acting Executive Director.” The Chicago Crusader, January 25, 2019. https://chicagocrusader.com/local-news/bufi-reboots-with-acting-executive-director/.
    5. “Safe Passage.” Accessed December 25, 2021. https://bufi.org/safe-passage/.
    6. “Entrepreneurial and Business Center.” BUFI. Accessed December 25, 2021. https://bufi.org/entrepreneurial-and-business-center-ebc/.
    7. “Upward Bound.” BUFI. Accessed December 25, 2021. https://bufi.org/bufi-ub-programs-events/.
    8.  Muhammad, Toure. Celebrating The Life And Legacy Of Henry L. English, March 22, 2016. https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_102971.shtml. ; “Robert T. Starks’s Biography.” The HistoryMakers, December 15, 2009. https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/robert-t-starks-41.
    9. “Black United Fund of Illinois Inc.” Black United Fund of Illinois Inc – GuideStar Profile. Accessed December 25, 2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/36-3397908.