Mission
AQUME Foundation will center economic justice and racial equity in philanthropy.
Vision
AQUME Foundation will be an innovative, sustainable, and trusted philanthropic steward of resources for the advancement of BIPOC communities throughout Michigan.
VALUES
Equity
We will lead with both racial and economic justice in all that we do
Financial Investment
We will invest in our BIPOC communities on a meaningful scale
Accountability
We will operate our organization with integrity and transparency
Community Transformation
We will place power and resources in the hands of BIPOC communities
History
WHO ARE WE?
In honor of the Black culture’s history of creatively changing the spelling of common words, ‘AQUME’ [pronounced /ack-me/] stems from of the word ‘acme’ which means the highest point at which someone or something is best, perfect, or most successful. Excellence is exactly what we strive for when serving our BIPOC communities.
Founded in 2021, AQUME Foundation is a Black-led foundation established as a systemic level response to the glaring national disparities in wealth and resources between white and BIPOC communities. As a result, we focus on economic justice by providing opportunities for the BIPOC community to learn about and establish intergenerational wealth through philanthropy, estate planning, workshops, and networking while integrating our core values of equity, financial investment, accountability, and community transformation.
WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE?
AQUME Foundation will provide grant funding and extensive resources to benefit the BIPOC community as we experience severe and pervasive disparities in quality of life outcomes due to generations of systemic oppression via racially biased policy and resource allocation. AQUME Foundation will also work with government and community leaders to develop viable solutions to these issues.