In the days after George Floyd was murdered — as people of color bore the brunt of the first pandemic wave, and protesters marched to demand an end to systemic racism — a group of Black and brown executives in Massachusetts joined forces to try to do just that in Boston, and beyond. They started The New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund, which has so far raised more than 30 million dollars and given away 3 million to organizations across the state. The group selected its first-ever president, Makeeba McCreary, who will leave her current post as the first chief of learning and community engagement at the Museum of Fine Arts in September to lead the fund.

“I see us all as being collaborative,” she said about how the Fund will work with other nonprofits in the city. “The New Commonwealth Fund is a startup, in essence. And, we’re building our strategy, we’re building our metrics. We are also going be able to really hone in on a very particular set of strategies that really do speak to ending up systemic racism and solving for social justice issues across the Commonwealth.”