Our Mission
is to foster collaborations that promote social equity and provide access in the communities where it's needed most.
Our Story
The Social Equity Access Fund is a woman of color-founded and led initiative based on mutual trust, redistribution of assets, and equitable access to financial resources that helps individuals address their basic needs.
The fund was established in 2020 by EGB and LPL to get financial support to individuals and nonprofits who need it most and as quickly as possible, without the typical barriers often found in traditional philanthropy.
We recognized the challenges with traditional philanthropy early on.
While well-intentioned, many funders and organizations are too far removed from the communities they aim to support. To create meaningful change, we needed to get closer—to listen deeply, understand lived realities, and trust communities to define their own needs and solutions.
And so, we took direct action.
We provided hundreds of individuals with immediate cash assistance and invested in grassroots organizations led by those with lived experience.
These funds came without heavy restrictions or bureaucracy—because we believe that those closest to the problem are also closest to the solution.
That work laid the foundation for our approach today.
We saw the power of trust-based giving and the importance of removing barriers and the organization today intentionally seeks to support grassroots organizations and leaders of color whenever possible because we value their lived experiences and proximity to those they serve in the community at the fringes most vulnerable to being marginalized, discriminated against, or dismissed.
Our Team
Elsa is the current CEO and co-founder of the Social Equity Access Fund, originally created with Luisa Peña Lyons, who is now the CEO of The Bridge Forward Fund.
The Fund was seeded by a visionary philanthropist as a philanthropic initiative that envisions a better, more fair world with increased access to social, racial, and economic justice for all.