Investee Spotlight: The Black Parent Initiative

What is the Black Parent Initiative?

Charles McGee, President and CEO of the Black Parent Initiative (BPI), believes that if you truly want to transform the lives of children in our community, you need to ensure that their families have a fighting chance. With over 10 years experience serving the Black community,  BPI intimately understands that the burden of racism is highly problematic for the betterment  of the families in our community. In order to best improve the lives of Portland’s Black and multi-ethnic children, BPI provides services including parent coaching, parent training, and education. They also partner with parents to improve job prospects, secure stable housing, and promote family stability. BPI believes that by providing stability to parents, they can influence black children's learning and success.

What are we doing with BPI?

We invested in a partnership with BPI because of their early childhood programs. These programs focus on pre-pregnancy through the first 1000 days of a child’s life, which is well aligned with our Ready for Kindergarten Goal. So far, BPI has served over 150 families with home-based wraparound services. We have awarded BPI a three year $100,000 grant to enable them to build their capacity with the time and expertise of our partnership. BPI supports and educates parents so they can be their most effective. They focus on childhood literacy, culturally specific parenting, and advocacy. We are helping BPI establish a strategic approach to Parent University and the launch of their Black Family Resource Center. Our goal is to help strengthen their early childhood programs and achieve broader change for Portland’s black community.