“This is our moment to demonstrate courageous leadership for WNY communities that have been disinvested from and harmed for decades, including the stolen land and labor of Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks, and those whose gender and sexual identity seem to threaten the systems of power upheld by White Supremacy – all our beloved communities who’ve been held back from opportunity and left to fend for themselves on the margins. With these funds, we have an opportunity to show WNY what real people power – with community-led governance and design – could look like across sectors, on all sides of town, and in all walks of life. And this is just the beginning. We’re only scratching the surface.” – Dawn Wells-Clyburn, Executive Director of PUSH Buffalo

“The creation and building of this fund is a testament to the late Lorna C Hill’s commitment to the uplifting and caring for what she called the beloved community. Ujima Company is proud to be an integral part of what we hope to be a new opportunity for growth and sustainability. We lead with love and justice with the aim to empower those in need.” – Brian Brown, Managing Director of Ujima Theatre Co.

“The establishment of this Fund allows us to reimagine what we can achieve as a Coalition, as a community, embodying Just Transition trust-based philanthropy in Buffalo. The process teaches us how to be vulnerable in shifting power, and how to show trust, love and care to each other in this movement. The funding process led by grassroot visionary leaders empowers the mobilization of crucial resources in most critical moments.” – Win Min Thant, Director of Crossroads Coalition

"The Crossroads Community Fund is a vision that our ancestors and freedom fighters have been fighting for. It builds the Beloved Community-Dr. King dreamed of. It is a bold and unapologetic investment in Buffalo’s people, neighborhoods, and grassroots organizations. It marks a historical shift from traditional, top-down philanthropy to a community-driven model—one that understands community needs, because we are the community. It builds real power from the ground up. By mobilizing resources where they are needed most, we are creating a just, thriving, and sustainable future for everyone in Buffalo." - Franchelle Parker, Executive Director of Open Buffalo

“PPG is a community-based think tank that builds a more just, sustainable, and culturally vibrant Buffalo Niagara through action-oriented research, policy development, and citizen engagement. Each fall, PPG invites its partners to submit proposals for its Community Agenda. Partners meet, collaborate, and consider ways to change local or state policies to advance equality, sustainability, and cultural vibrancy in the Buffalo Niagara region. The partners take a vote, and the top ten proposals become our Community Agenda for the year. Check out our 2025 Community Agenda to see what we’re working on.” – Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, Executive Director of Partnership for the Public Good

“At Cooperation Buffalo, our work is all about shifting control of economic resources to those most impacted by racial, economic, and climate injustice, through entrepreneurship training and technical assistance for cooperatively owned businesses. The Crossroads Community Fund is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to practice community control of vital economic resources. The coalition of community-based organizations launching this fund are taking our cues from the grassroots and funding work that will transform Buffalo through community-owned and community-led efforts.”  – Andrew Delmonte, Executive Director of Cooperation Buffalo

“The Crossroads Community Fund is a mobilization of resources to invest in Buffalo’s people, communities, and grassroots institutions. It represents a shift away from corporate-and elite-dominated philanthropy to a new model that builds real power from below to create a just, livable, and sustainable future for everyone in Buffalo and Western New
York.” – Gin Armstrong, Executive Director of Public Accountability Initiative

“The Massachusetts Avenue Project works to increase health equity and food sovereignty in WNY by addressing food insecurity, providing meaningful jobs and leadership skills for young people, economic opportunities for entrepreneurs and food-based education and advocacy for all. The Crossroads Community Fund is being established to open up resources and dollars to historically underserved individuals and grassroots efforts working to build a more just and resilient Buffalo.” – Diane Picard, Executive Director of Massachusetts Avenue Project

“Using the creative impulse as a common denominator, The WASH Project, nested within a community laundromat, establishes an outlet for its users to access the arts while advocating for the just advancement of its immediate community, including refugees, low-income renters, and historically disenfranchised people, by facilitating creative pathways to action.” – Barrett Gordon, Executive Director of The WASH Project

“These are the necessary actions to create a just and equitable society. We are proud and honored to be a part of this initiative.” – Alex Wright, Fund Advisor