Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jackie Broxton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jackie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
One of the riskiest situations the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation faced was our need to find a permanent location for our operations. While BMCF was in its infancy, we had been promised a property through a partnership—yet two years later, without appropriate warning, we learned that the property would be given to another entity. We were told that we “did not have the capacity to operate a program.”
To say that I was shattered would be an inadequate description of what I felt at that moment. In response, I took a huge risk and made a public commitment, vowing to find a location for our services. I was driven solely by faith and not logic—but ultimately, I did develop a relationship with an organization, California Lutheran Homes and Community Services, who opened their hearts to the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation.
They worked with us to buy a home in LA’s historic West Adams neighborhood and rent it to us for just $10 a month! Their belief in our “capacity to operate a program” has been life-changing, allowing us to expand our services and create a true home for the foster care community in LA. Today, we offer workshops, support groups, resource fairs, scholarships, and more from our facility and with other partners across the County. We also have been able to use the home to provide affordable housing for young women in foster care while they pursue their education or vocational training. While shifting away from our original partner for a brick-and-mortar location was certainly risky, the blessing in connecting with California Lutheran Homes was worth the endeavor.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Los Angeles County is home to the largest foster care population in the nation. In 2013, deeply concerned community members launched the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation (BMCF) as an outreach ministry of LA’s First AME Church to help current and former foster youth thrive. Today, we’ve grown into an independent 501c3 nonprofit serving hundreds of youth and families in LA.
We’re named after Bridget “Biddy” Mason, a formerly enslaved woman who won freedom for herself and 12 others in early Los Angeles. She amassed a fortune and devoted her life to uplifting vulnerable people—a legacy we’re honored to continue.
Our core services include:
– Support groups for moms who were once in foster care and kinship carers (relatives who take in the children of family members)
– An annual resource for fair current and former foster youth to explore career opportunities, college access, local support services tailored to their needs, and much more!
– Temporary residential support for college-age women in foster care
– Our Annual Thanksgiving Celebration that welcomes members of LA’s foster care community to our homebase for an afternoon of giveaways, activities, and a delicious traditional meal
– Scholarships for current and former foster youth to pursue college or vocational education
– “Town Hall” events that bring foster youth and the broader community into fellowship with each other.
Our programs differ from other government and nonprofit services because most services available to foster youth end upon their departure from the foster care system or shortly after. But we realize that years of trauma don’t disappear overnight. Our Mothers Mingle program, for example, is a therapist-led support group for moms navigating how their own time in foster care has impacted their personal growth and parenting journey. To make it easier for moms to attend, the monthly gathering is free, always includes a meal, and offers childcare. It’s a unique experience designed to help these women build a supportive community and put an end to cycles of parenting challenges that may have existed in their own families.
Another unique element to our programming is the incorporation of Black history. While BMCF intentionally supports those from all backgrounds, we emphasize sharing the history of Black and Brown individuals because of their staggering overrepresentation in foster care. In 2020, nearly three-quarters of all children entering foster care in LA were Black or Latinx. Separated from their families of origin, few of these individuals know their personal history, let alone the legacies of influential people of color—like Biddy Mason—who came before them. We believe knowing your past helps heal your future, so we fill the BMCF house with information on historical figures and host many history-focused events throughout the year to connect those we serve with their community and strengthen their sense of belonging.
One Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation resource I’m most proud of is our scholarship program, which is also incredibly special due to its broad application. We started awarding scholarships in 2018, and in just a few years we have distributed more than $600,000 to help current and former foster youth fulfill their academic and professional goals. We impose no age limit for applicants; scholarships are renewable and range up to $3,000; and funding can be used for any accredited high school, undergraduate, postgraduate, or vocational institution. Given that fewer than 5% of foster youth obtain college degrees, we are honored to help remove systemic barriers and level the playing ground for their success.
Lastly, we want our potential clients and followers to know that we’re in this for the long haul. Yes, current and former foster youth can choose to participate in a program or apply for a scholarship once or twice, but we view our involvement as building a deep, broad network of relationships that the foster care community can return to for many years to come.
Most critically, this work is rooted in community partnerships. The more people who support us, the more lasting impact we can make for people who have grown up without the family support so many of us take for granted. Volunteers, donors, corporate sponsors, collaborations with other nonprofits, churches, and government entities—we are open and eager to connect with those who share in our mission to elevate foster youth. Please reach out to us to learn how you can advocate for them and get involved!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I was inspired to launch the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation (BMCF) after being employed as the director of major gifts and planned giving for Hillsides, a foster care and mental health agency in the San Gabriel Valley. I helped raise money for the Youth Moving On Program, which aided “transition age youth” (also known as TAY) who were aging out of the foster care system. Working with these young people provided me with a deeper understanding of the challenges youth face when they leave foster care without family support.
I also knew I wanted to help Black foster youth strengthen their sense of belonging. African American youth are overrepresented in foster care in Los Angeles, and often may struggle with their identity and self worth. At Hillsides, I remember witnessing a young Black girl longingly touch the straight hair of her friend, as though her own unstyled hair was lesser. In another instance, a young African American male discreetly asked me who Tom Bradley was, as if he was ashamed not to know the answer. These experiences were hard for me to dismiss and encouraged me to integrate Black history into programs offered by the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation, starting with the inspiring true story of Biddy herself.
Ultimately, my vision for BMCF was to offer more robust resources for current and former foster and create a loving community that would go the distance for them. When we launched in 2013, my biggest challenge was the fact that I was still working another job for the first seven years of our existence. It was difficult to balance the two entities. A key to our resilience during this period of development was assembling a strong Board of Directors that had a number of retirees. However, BMCF differs from other nonprofits in that its Board members are extremely active—they not only make essential connections to help with programming and funding, they show up as volunteers to connect with foster youth, keep our property clean, handle check-in—whatever is needed. Their support and continual outreach laid the foundation that helped us grow from a small group of concerned citizens in a church outreach ministry to a full-fledged independent nonprofit reaching hundreds of individuals each year.
Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?
Finding the money to start was a challenge. Initially, we began by asking friends and neighbors to donate to our mission. It was a slow process, but it worked because in the early years we had no real overhead. We were operating from my home, and board members contributed to help defray our costs.
Building our network of advocates and supporters has been absolutely critical. Volunteers help manage our website, write grant applications for funding, operate our events, and more. We also do not receive government funding, which means donor support is essential.
Stewardship of those donations is also important. Our scholarship program initially grew from a one-time donation that we were able to invest and grow into additional funding to impact more foster youth. Since 2018, we’ve awarded more than $650,000 in scholarships to youth pursuing undergraduate, master’s, and PhD programs, as well as vocational professional development.
Each year during the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation’s scholarship season, we’re reminded of how many bright and talented young people are in the foster care system. They are a resource that should not be overlooked or undervalued, and have so much to offer. So when we ask people to donate, they can give with confidence that they’re truly impacting fellow human beings and the city we share for the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.biddymason.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biddy_mason
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebiddymason
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-broxton-a948757/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@biddymasoncharitablefounda8051?si=4od7uUQ7eVFSbjKL
Image Credits
Images courtesy of the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation