BEAM’s Black Peer Support and Community Care Grants

If you’ve ever tried to run a peer support circle on a shoestring budget, you already know the truth:
“community care” isn’t just a hashtag. It’s room rental receipts. It’s snacks. It’s bus passes. It’s the
brave soul who shows up early to set out the folding chairs that inevitably fold the wrong way.

BEAM’s Black Peer Support and Community Care Grants exist for that reality. They’re designed to put
real dollars behind Black-led, healing-centered peer support and community wellness projectsespecially
the kind that often gets overlooked because it doesn’t fit neatly inside a clinic, a grantmaker’s spreadsheet,
or a “professionalized” definition of care.

This article breaks down what these grants are, what they can fund, why peer support matters, and how
projects can use modest funding to create outsized impact. We’ll keep it practical, evidence-informed, and
humanbecause a community care grant that isn’t human would be, frankly, a very suspicious grant.

What is BEAM, and why do these grants exist?

BEAM (the Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective) describes itself as a national training, movement-building,
and grantmaking organization focused on removing barriers Black people face in accessing emotional health care and
healinggrounded in a healing justice framework. In plain terms: BEAM treats mental health as a community issue,
not a personal failure, and invests in tools and ecosystems that help Black communities heal, organize, and thrive.

The Black Peer Support and Community Care Grants have been described as a way to uplift and resource Black-led peer
support and community health projects that center Black people living in distress or navigating mental health challenges.
That focus matters because a “care gap” is rarely just about individual choices; it can also be about access, trust,
culturally responsive support, and whether a person can actually get help without losing dignity (or a day’s wages).

These grants are also connected to BEAM’s broader grantmaking approachincluding the Black Wellness Innovation Fund
referenced in BEAM’s application materialssupporting projects like peer support groups, social support spaces, healing
circles, and wellness initiatives rooted in Black wellness and liberation.

Peer support and community care: what do those words actually mean?

Peer support: “I’ve been there” is a skill, not just a vibe

Peer support is typically defined as support offered by people with lived experienceoften of mental health conditions,
substance use recovery, or other major life disruptionswho use that experience to support others. Done well, peer support
is not “giving therapy without a license.” It’s a structured, relational kind of help built on mutuality, respect, and
empowerment. Peer supporters share practical strategies, help people set goals, and offer hope grounded in reality.

Many public health and mental health bodies recognize peer support as an effective complement to clinical servicesone
that extends care into everyday life, where stress and loneliness tend to show up uninvited.

Community care: care that doesn’t wait for permission

Community care is the wider ecosystem: the group text that checks in, the auntie who helps you breathe through a rough
moment, the circle where you can say the thing out loud without being treated like a problem to be fixed. Community care
often overlaps with mutual aidcommunity members sharing resources and support in ways that emphasize solidarity instead
of charity.

Community care can include peer-led wellness circles, support groups, culturally grounded workshops, and spaces that
reduce isolation. Connection itself is protective: public health guidance has increasingly emphasized how relationships
with family, peers, and trusted adults can support mental healthespecially for young people. If connection is a health
input, community care is the delivery system.

What peer support is not

Let’s lovingly clarify a few things:

• Peer support isn’t a replacement for therapyit’s a different tool in the same toolbox.
• Peer support isn’t “fixing” peopleit’s walking with them while they build their own strategies.
• Peer support isn’t boundary-freegood peer work includes clear scope, consent, and referral plans.

What the grants can fund (and why “general operating” is a big deal)

According to BEAM’s 2023 application materials, the Black Peer Support and Community Care Grants are intended as
general operating support for things like:

• Peer support groups
• Social support spaces
• Healing circles
• Wellness projects focused on Black communities

“General operating support” is philanthropy’s way of saying, “We trust you to spend money on what actually keeps the work alive.”
That can include boring-but-critical expenses that many grants ignorelike facilitator stipends, accessibility needs, admin software,
transportation help, childcare, and consistent space to meet. (Because healing is powerful, but it’s hard to heal in a parking lot
because the community center double-booked you again.)

Who the grants are for

BEAM’s application language signals a strong interest in Black-led and Black-serving efforts, including:

• Black disability justice collectives
• Small or mid-size nonprofits convening Black wellness circles regularly
• Therapists or skilled wellness facilitators sustaining groups that support Black communities

In other words, this isn’t only for large organizations with a development team and a color-coded grant calendar.
The emphasis is on projects that are already doing the workor have a clear plan to build itespecially in ways
aligned with healing justice and community need.

How much funding are we talking about?

Public-facing descriptions of the program have highlighted $10,000 awards as a common grant amount. BEAM’s
grants map also shows peer support and community care grants in that range, with some entries in later years reflecting
varying amounts depending on the project and funding cycle.

Translation: don’t treat $10,000 as “small.” In community care terms, that can mean a year of consistent circles, paid
facilitators, and a program that survives long enough to become a true community anchor.

What makes BEAM’s approach different?

1) It centers healing justice, not just “services”

Healing justice is commonly described as a framework for responding holistically to trauma and the impacts of oppression
on bodies, hearts, and mindswhile building collective practices that support transformation. In this framing, healing is not
separate from justice. It’s part of how communities endure, resist, and rebuild.

That matters because many Black-led wellness projects are doing more than “programming.” They’re repairing isolation,
rebuilding trust, and creating culturally grounded spaces where people can practice care without being policedsocially or
institutionallyfor having needs.

2) It invests in peer-led support as real infrastructure

Peer support is sometimes treated like the “nice extra” after the “real work” is funded. BEAM flips that assumption.
Peer support is real work. It’s skilled. It’s relational. And it’s often what people can access quickly when clinical systems
are expensive, overbooked, or culturally misaligned.

3) It funds the work people actually do, not the work that looks good on a brochure

Community care doesn’t always look shiny. It looks like weekly consistency. It looks like conflict repair. It looks like making
sure a space is accessible. It looks like a facilitator having a plan for what happens when someone shows up exhausted, angry,
grieving, or numb. BEAM’s grantmaking language (and the types of projects shown in its grants map) suggests an understanding
that the “unsexy” parts are the parts that keep people safe and supported.

Real examples: what these grants can bring to life

BEAM’s publicly available grants map highlights a range of funded projects. While each project is unique, the theme is consistent:
peer-led, culturally grounded support that meets people where they are. Here are a few examples of the types of initiatives
the program has supported.

Holding Space for Black men (Cleveland)

One peer support program focused on engaging Black men to build supportive networks and strengthen emotional toolslike communication,
vulnerability, and self-regulation. That’s community care in action: not “fixing” people, but building capacity and connection.

A peer support group in Liberty City (Miami)

Another grantee supported a peer support group serving Black community members facing significant barriers to stable care. The support
helped create safer space and consistent programmingkey ingredients for trust, which you can’t rush or automate.

DBT skills support group for Black women (Atlanta)

BEAM’s map also includes funding for a skills-based group where Black women could learn coping strategies for the emotional and relational
impacts of daily stressors. Skills groups work best when they’re consistent, culturally responsive, and facilitated by people who understand
the contextnot just the curriculum.

Somatic and movement-based healing (Baltimore)

Another funded effort focused on somatic interventions and movement-based healing approaches to support people navigating trauma. This matters
because wellness isn’t only cognitive; it’s also physical and embodied. Sometimes healing starts with learning how to feel safe in your body again.

Intergenerational and family-centered support (Los Angeles)

The map also includes a workshop series designed to foster healing conversations and understanding within Black familiesespecially around identity,
belonging, and support across generations. That’s not “soft.” That’s preventative care for relationships.

Across examples, the grant support is often described as funding facilitators and program costsexactly the practical backbone that turns a good
idea into a sustained community resource.

Why peer support works: the evidence and the common sense

Peer support is backed by both research and lived experience. Public health and mental health organizations describe peer support as effective because
it leverages shared understanding and mutual empowermentoften helping people stay engaged in recovery and support processes beyond clinical settings.

Research literature and program evaluations have found benefits such as reduced isolation, improved coping, and better engagementparticularly when
peer programs are structured, well-supported, and grounded in respect and autonomy. Family-focused peer education programs, for example, have shown
measurable benefits for participants in controlled studiessuggesting that “people helping people” can be more than inspirational; it can be effective.

Just as important, community care fills gaps that clinical care can’t always fill:

• Speed: A group can meet next week; a therapist might have a waitlist until next season.
• Trust: People open up faster when they feel culturally understood and not judged.
• Belonging: The opposite of isolation isn’t “treatment”it’s connection.
• Durability: A strong circle can support someone through ongoing life stressors, not just acute moments.

If you’re considering applying: what strong proposals usually show

BEAM’s cycles and requirements can change, so always check current guidance. But most strong community care proposalsanywheretend to communicate
a few essentials clearly:

1) A specific community and a real need

“Black people” isn’t one experience. Strong proposals name who the project serves and what’s happening in that community (for example: caregivers,
people re-entering community after incarceration, Black men building emotional support networks, or Black parents needing consistent peer spaces).

2) A clear format people can actually attend

Weekly circles? Monthly workshops? A drop-in support space? The best design isn’t the fanciestit’s the one that fits people’s schedules, transportation realities,
and energy levels. A brilliant program no one can attend is basically a motivational poster.

3) Boundaries and safety practices

Peer support isn’t about handling everything alone. It’s about having a plan. Strong proposals explain facilitator training, group agreements, confidentiality limits,
and what happens when someone needs support beyond the group’s scope (like referrals to local clinical resources).

4) A budget that tells the truth

Don’t under-budget the work. If people are leading circles, they deserve pay. If the space needs accessibility accommodations, include them. If you need childcare
or transportation support so people can attend, say so. “General operating” funds are meant to hold the whole program, not just the pretty parts.

5) A simple way to learn and improve

You don’t need a 40-page evaluation plan. But you can track attendance, collect anonymous feedback, and document what participants say is changing for them.
Community care is iterative: you learn what works by listeningrepeatedly and respectfully.

FAQ: quick answers people often look for

Is this only for nonprofits?

BEAM’s grantmaking has been described as offering monetary aid to organizations, collectives, and individuals, and the peer support grant application materials
include questions about organizational structure. If you’re not a 501(c)(3), many community projects use a fiscal sponsorso be prepared to explain how funds
will be responsibly managed.

Is peer support the same as therapy?

No. Peer support is non-clinical and relationship-centered. It can be deeply helpful, but it doesn’t replace licensed mental health treatment. Think of it as
community-based support that can stand alongside therapy (or serve as a bridge when therapy isn’t accessible).

Do you need to be “perfect” to run a peer group?

Absolutely not. You need integrity, training (where appropriate), clear boundaries, and a commitment to do the work with care. Peer support is not “I have no problems.”
It’s “I’ve built tools, and I can share them responsibly while honoring your autonomy.”

Experiences from the field: what it feels like when community care gets funded

The first thing most organizers notice after receiving a community care grant isn’t glamorous. It’s relief. The kind of relief that looks like unclenching your jaw
after months of asking yourself, “How long can we keep doing this for free?”

Take a peer facilitator named Mariah (name changed). For a year, her healing circle met wherever space was cheapor accidentally available. Sometimes it was a borrowed
room in a community center. Sometimes it was the back corner of a bookstore that kindly pretended not to notice the emotional breakthroughs happening between the romance
novels and the register. When funding came through, the “big upgrade” wasn’t a fancy venue. It was consistency: the same room, the same day, the same time, for months.
Members started showing up early. People began to trust the container. The circle stopped feeling like a pop-up shop and started feeling like a home base.

Another organizer, Darnell, described the grant as the moment he could finally stop being a one-person Swiss Army knife. Before funding, he was the facilitator, the reminder
texter, the note-taker, the snack-bringer, and the person sweeping up crumbs after everyone leftbecause community care is beautiful, but it still produces crumbs.
With grant support, he paid a co-facilitator and a part-time coordinator. The group didn’t just run smoother; it got safer. Two trained people could co-hold the room, notice
when someone was shutting down, and follow up appropriately. The group’s culture shifted from “We’re making this work somehow” to “We’re building something we can sustain.”

Participants notice different changes. A consistent snack budget sounds like a joke until you realize how many people come straight from work, caretaking, or long commutes.
In one circle, a member said the snacks mattered because it was the first time all week someone had prepared something for them. Not because they couldn’t handle life,
but because life had been handling them a little too aggressively. Another participant appreciated transportation support: “I didn’t have to choose between being in community
and being able to get home.”

Funding also changes how facilitators handle boundaries. When a group is under-resourced, organizers sometimes compensate with over-availabilitylate-night calls, endless emotional labor,
and a quiet belief that saying “no” means you don’t care. With grant support, many teams create clearer structures: office hours, rotating roles, referral lists, and written group agreements.
That kind of structure protects everyone. It keeps the work from burning out the very people who are holding it.

And then there’s the “infrastructure glow-up,” which sounds like a tech startup phrase but is really just: accessibility. A grant can pay for childcare during meetings, translation support,
mobility-friendly space, printed materials, or virtual options for folks who can’t travel. That turns a supportive space into a space that people can actually use. Community care isn’t only
the intention; it’s the design.

The most powerful “experience” organizers report is watching a group become self-sustaining culturallynot financially, but relationally. Members start checking in on each other outside sessions.
People share job leads, recipes, playlists, and coping strategies. A newcomer gets welcomed without having to perform strength. Over time, the group stops being “a program” and becomes an ecosystem:
a small, sturdy network that helps people stay connected to their own wellness.

That’s the quiet magic of grants like BEAM’s: they don’t just fund events. They fund continuity. And continuity is what turns care from a moment into a practice.

Conclusion: community care is not extrait’s the foundation

BEAM’s Black Peer Support and Community Care Grants represent a straightforward but radical idea: Black-led communities already know how to care for each otherand they deserve resources to do it
sustainably, safely, and with dignity.

Peer support and community care don’t replace clinical care. They fill gaps, reduce isolation, strengthen coping, and create culturally grounded spaces where people can tell the truth without fear.
And when a grant helps pay facilitators, secure space, and keep the lights on (literally), that support becomes something people can count onnot just something they hope will exist next month.

If you’re building a peer support group or community care project, the takeaway is simple: your work is real. Your work is skilled. And your work is worth fundingfolding chairs, snack crumbs, and all.