Congo Square Theatre Company — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to centering the African Diaspora through transformative Black theatre — has weathered a decade marked by dramatic shifts in contributed income. From 2015 to 2019, funding remained steady, mirroring the size and systemic limitations placed on Black-led institutions operating within an inequitable philanthropic ecosystem.

Then came 2020–2022 — a social justice “reckoning” sparked by twin global emergencies:

1. The COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered emergency relief for arts organizations on the brink.
2. The world’s overdue outrage after George Floyd’s murder, which pushed corporations and donors into performative overdrive, throwing support at Black-led organizations in a fleeting wave of DEI urgency and PR-driven response.

During that period, Congo Square experienced a significant surge in contributions and grants — more than doubling our pre-pandemic revenue. This influx of funding allowed us to deepen our work, expand our impact, and invest meaningfully in our infrastructure. However, we must be clear: this was not a new norm. It was a response to extraordinary circumstances — a moral and cultural inflection point that, unfortunately, many funders have since moved away from.

By 2023, the increase had begun to recede. DEI commitments were scaled back or quietly paused, arts funding became more scarce, and the sustained support for Black-led institutions began to wane. We are now witnessing a reversion to pre-2020 norms — a shift that raises critical questions about long-term sustainability and shared responsibility.

Further, suggesting that a Board of Directors should simply “raise more money” without acknowledging the structural inequities embedded in nonprofit funding models is both unrealistic and dismissive. It overlooks the broader philanthropic trends, the enduring undercapitalization of Black-led organizations, Black-led artistic institutions, and the historical lack of investment in institutions like Congo Square.

We owe it to ourselves — and to the communities we serve — to speak truthfully. We are no longer interested in surface-level narratives or convenient calls to action.