Netflix Pledges $100 Million To Support Black Communities In The U.S.

Netflix has made a $100 million pledge to support black communities in the United States. 

The commitment was announced in a blog post on Tuesday where it was explained that 2% of the company’s cash holdings would go to “directly support Black Communities in the U.S.” which could lead to up to $100 million in donations.

Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann told Squawk Box on Tuesday, “roughly $5 billion in our cash balance sheet as of last quarter. If we can move 2% into these Black owned or Black led financial institutions… where we can still manage our liquidity… it’s a way to do this on an ongoing basis and hopefully learn from this and it continues to grow.” 

A new fund was created titled the Black Economic Development Initiative where $25 million will be moved into. Netflix wrote in the post, “Black financial institutions serving low and moderate-income communities and Black community development corporations in the U.S.”

Ten million dollars will also be moved to the Hope Credit Union which helps underserved communities in the Deep South. The blog went on to say, “Over the next two years, HOPE estimates the Netflix deposit will support financing to more than 2,500 entrepreneurs, homebuyers and consumers of color.” 

The director of talent acquisition Aaron Mitchell came up with the idea and worked with Treasury Director Shannon Alwyn in order to make it happen. The two made a joint statement that read, “19% percent of Black families have either negative wealth or no assets at all, compared to only 9% of White households, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve. … Black banks have existed to fight this for generations, spurring economic growth by extending credit in often underbanked communities. But they’re disadvantaged in their access to capital, especially from large multinational companies, when compared to other banks.”

Netflix has been taking action regarding the Black Lives Matter movement especially in the wake of George Floyd’s death, a black man who was killed in police custody by an officer kneeling on his neck. On Monday, the streaming service had announced a six-episode series titled Colin in Black & White about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

The Netflix Instagram posted about the new show and said about Kaepernick, “he would grow up to play in the Super Bowl – and realize you never stop fighting for your dreams.⁣”

This announcement comes almost two weeks after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin have donated $120 million to historically black colleges and universities. In 2016, Hastings had created a $100 million fund to donate to children’s education. He is known for previously giving large sums of money to charter schools.