(Un)bound by the Margins: Perspectives of Leadership and Fundraising Practices by Black Women Nonprofit Executives

ABSTRACT Within under‐resourced and low‐income neighborhoods, many Black women lead nonprofits with an enhanced awareness of their communities' needs and extensive relationships with the local population. Although the lived experiences of Black women nonprofit leaders are increasingly acknowledged, less is known about how they apply effective strategies to overcome substantial barriers to accessing funding for community organizations in marginalized areas. This descriptive and phenomenological qualitative study is grounded in the resource dependence framework, which emphasizes dependence on funding as a potential risk to organizational survival and a source of contention regarding the uncertainty of funding sources in relation to sustainability. Focusing on the lived experiences of nine Black women nonprofit executives leading organizations in low socioeconomic communities, this study identifies four categories of multilayered and structural barriers, uncovered through an inductive approach: personal, social, organizational, and those related to the external environment. The study also identifies approaches that can be used to overcome these barriers within the terrain of fundraising and philanthropy. The implications of this study include informing public policy and grant makers about the drivers that impact nonprofits' sustainability and the importance of interventions, advocacy for funding, and capacity building to support Black‐led nonprofits in historically marginalized communities. This research provides insights and suggestions to remedy inequities in philanthropy to enable a more inclusive and equitable nonprofit funding ecosystem.