Catholic Law's Professor Roger P. Colinvaux, an expert on nonprofit organizations and philanthropy, recently penned an opinion piece for The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Entitled “How the Fearless Fund Ruling Distorts Charity, History — and Law,” it addresses a recent court ruling that blocked a venture firm’s grant program for African-American women.

Colinvaux’s article is available here.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy
By: Roger P. Colinvaux
Date: June 13, 2024
How the Fearless Fund Ruling Distorts Charity, History — and Law

. . .
The ruling last week against the Fearless Fund’s grant contest by a federal appeals court panel is an act of judicial overreach that could upend charitable giving in the United States.

In a two-to-one vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held that the 501(c)(3) arm of the Fearless Fund venture capital firm — the Fearless Foundation — could not run its Strivers Grant Contest, which awards $20,000 grants to businesses owned by Black women.

Although this case might sound like an extension of last summer’s Supreme Court affirmative action decision on university admissions, it potentially goes much deeper. If other courts follow suit, the judges’ warped interpretation of a civil rights statute would hamstring charitable efforts to support racial justice and have a chilling effect on philanthropic funding nationwide.
. . .