Sept. 15, 2022

Dear Friends and Partners,

Prosperity Now is proud to announce the launch of the Black Wealth Data Center (BWDC).

Incubated by Prosperity Now, the BWDC is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, a national program focused on accelerating the pace of wealth accumulation for Black individuals and families and addressing systemic underinvestment in Black communities across the U.S.

As you know, the significant gaps in Black wealth data have made it very difficult for researchers, practitioners, advocates, and policymakers to fund programs to grow Black wealth, uncover solutions, make investment decisions, and create evidence-based policies. We also know that most Black households have lost more than half their wealth over the past three decades. Even more alarming, these losses worsened during a pandemic that sickened or killed millions. Clearly, an intervention is needed, and that is why we decided to engage in this incredible effort to launch the Black Wealth Data Center, which we believe will advance the development and implementation of programs that increase generational Black wealth.

At launch, the Black Wealth Data Center will host data sets focused on assets, debt, education, employment, homeownership, and business ownership. With more complete data available, the Black Wealth Data Center will be a powerful resource for leaders to leverage data and technology to access a fuller, more accurate story of Black wealth, as well as to facilitate evidence-based policy making and investment decisions that will increase Black wealth in America.

The Black Wealth Data Center’s creation advances Prosperity Now’s strategic vision to secure racial economic equity and eliminate America’s racial wealth divide by elevating the most crucial data, analysis, and advocacy on asset building in Black communities. This groundbreaking initiative builds on our Prosperity Now Scorecard and supports the broader field by democratizing data on Black wealth.

The Black Wealth Data Center intends to fuel the creation of a national standard on Black wealth analysis and become a trusted source for the collection and dissemination of wealth inequity data. It will elevate our understanding of the underlying variables related to wealth in Black households. It will also build a network of strategic partners and collaborations across other platforms working to analyze and accelerate Black wealth. It is truly a game changer for us all.

We look forward to previewing this powerful new tool for our network at the Prosperity Summit next week in Atlanta, Georgia, and welcome your feedback. We can’t wait for you to interact with the site and help us leverage this new tool for our work.

Sincerely,

Gary Cunningham
President & CEO
Prosperity Now