BALTIMORE — You know the phrase… it takes a village.
Well, some Baltimore residents are using a giving circle to make a difference and no donation – or donor – is too small.
Like 10-year-old Chloe Neal. She is one of the city's youngest philanthropists.
WATCH: Baltimore giving circle preserving the history of Black philanthropy
“It makes me feel happy because I’m giving,” Neal says. “It's so much fun because I can give back to the community.”
At age six, Neal became a founding member of The Black Philanthropy Circle, which awards grants through the Baltimore Community Foundation to Black-led and Black-serving organizations in the city.
Lawyer Alicia Wilson is the co-founder.
“One of my dear friends, Savonne Ferguson, and I would at the end of the year pool our resources where we were giving in the Baltimore community, to ensure that maybe an organization that was getting $1,000 from me and $1,000 from Savonne, they were getting $2,000.”
Now 50 people are in the circle.
Since 2021, the Circle has awarded ten, $25,000 grants each year to nonprofits ranging from arts groups to housing providers.
This month, they reached a milestone with the announcement of the 2025 grant recipients: $1 million in giving.
“My one plus your one plus their one equals so much more than what we could do individually,” Wilson says.
While there are doctors and lawyers in the Circle, it also has average people without titles. Most give under $500 and some as little as $20.
“In the spirit of those who came before us, that to whom much is given, much is required,” Wilson says.
August is Black Philanthropy Month and nationally, nearly two-thirds of African American families donate to charities, more than $11 billion annually.
“We all stand in need, and we have stood in need,” Wilson says. “And now that we have achieved measures of success, we give, and even as we're on our journey to, and continue to be on our journey, we still give. That's really the history of Black philanthropy in this country.”
And they're attracting younger people, like Neal, who's donated $8,000 so far from money her dad gives her throughout the year, she says.
“It's just like, treat others like you wanna be treated. The golden rule,” Neal says.
