Southern Black Girls Invests More Than $1.2M in 2025 Through Historic Black Girl Joy Challenge.
Heading into 2026, the Southern Black Girls movement stands strong—fueling Southern organizations and small businesses with over $1 million in investments.
The Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium reached a major milestone in 2025, investing more than $1 million to support over 60 organizations and 25 small businesses across 13 Southern states.
Based in Selma, the organization directed $1.2 million through its Black Girls Dream Fund, Innovation Fund, and Black Girls Defense Fund—backing a wide range of initiatives at a time when funding for racial and gender equity is being rolled back nationwide, according to a press release. Marking another historic achievement, Southern Black Girls also awarded its 1,000th Black Girl Joy Challenge grant in 2025, empowering girls ages 13–24 with resources to create joy and impact within their communities.
“This year showed that even amid challenging times, investing in organizations that uplift Black girls and women is a powerful act of resistance, imagination, and belief in the future,” said Chanceé Lundy, executive director of the Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium.
Lundy stepped into 2025 at full stride—her first full year as executive director and a full-circle moment alongside founder LaTosha Brown, who mentored her as a 14-year-old in a Selma youth program more than three decades ago. Their intergenerational bond embodies the Consortium’s commitment to investing in organizations that uplift Black girls and women.
“As the year draws to a close, I’m reminded that even when the road is challenging, we continue to hold steady,” Lundy wrote in a recent letter to supporters. “Despite the pressure, we showed up, expanded our giving, and remained intentional in meeting this moment.”
In June 2025, Southern Black Girls convened more than 1,300 Black girls and women in Atlanta for the Black Girls Dream Conference, themed “She Got Next.” The two-day gathering offered 80 workshops spanning STEAM, mental health, financial empowerment, and social justice. The organization’s commitment to supporting Black women entrepreneurs was also on display, with Crystal Chisholm, founder of The Oyster Journal, receiving mentorship and funding through the Dream Investment Program.
“When I first launched my app, I built it on my own, but I faced technical limitations,” Chisholm said. “This grant made it possible to hire a contractor to develop premium features that will generate revenue for the first time, marking our transition from community-building to long-term financial sustainability.”
