Equity Trust

The Black Family Land Trust (BFLT) is a conservation land trust working primarily in the Southeastern United States to help African American and other historically underserved landowners preserve and protect land assets, critical for enabling opportunity and economic security for Black families today and into the future.  It is estimated that the number of acres of rural land owned by African Americans dropped from fifteen million to around two-and-a-half million over the course of the twentieth century.[1] Through the efforts of BFLT and a few other groups, that situation is improving, but there’s a long way to go and scarce resources to draw upon.   To help, we have committed to provide access to financing for landowners working with BFLT’s asset protection, land productivity, and heirs property programs, supporting BFLT’s important mission and diversifying our own land reform work.  Loans under this partnership could enable families to consolidate title claims on ancestral property or to launch a new business making use of their land.

[1] http://www.federationsoutherncoop.com/aalandown04.htm