What’s next after flood of racial equity donations?

During the global anti-racism protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death, corporations, celebrities and regular people chose to show support for the cause with donations eventually totalling billions of dollars. What comes next?

There was a lot going on when Imam Makram El-Amin received a message from some out-of-town friends.

His North Minneapolis mosque is home to Al-Maa’uun, a charity that runs food, work and housing programmes in a part of the city with some of the highest rates of disparity in the state.

“Healthcare, wealth gap, education, home ownership. Whatever. You pick it, we got it here. So there’s no shortage of need,” he says.

Al-Maa’uun’s resources were being stretched by economic shocks caused by the global coronavirus pandemic when Minneapolis was rocked by the 25 May killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man whose death in police custody in that Midwestern city launched global protests.

Even before those two tragedies – Floyd’s death and the pandemic – Mr El-Amin says “we were struggling mightily in this community to just get the support that everyday common residents needed”.

Then the turbulence and civil unrest in Minneapolis after Floyd’s death meant some neighbourhood stores were closed, reducing access to groceries, essential items and medication for the community.

At that time, Mr El-Amin took to Facebook with “just a real time assessment of what was happening and what we were trying to do to combat it”.

Soon, offers of help came from friends who told him there was deep concern across the US regarding Floyd’s death, and on matters of policing, racism and injustice.

People were ready to help groups that were doing work on the ground in the community, they told him.

They helped the charity quickly craft an online fundraising campaign to take advantage of the moment, though the imam told them: “Let’s start small and if it grows, fantastic.”

“And my goodness. I was not expecting the response that we got.”

The initial $25,000 (£19,650) goal was reached in 24 hours. In another six, they reached $50,000.

The campaign eventually closed at $400,000, an amount Mr El-Amin calls a “game changer”.

“This is what we wanted all the time, this is what we prayed for, you know what I mean?” he says.

“And this moment – as tragic as it is, as hurtful and traumatic as it is – has also blessed us in this moment in terms of being able to help more folks.”

Al-Maa’uun was not alone in receiving the largesse of donors around the world seeking to make a difference in the wake of Floyd’s death.

Since 25 May, roughly $5bn in pledges and commitments were made to racial