CFT launches #IAMPEARL FUND in honor of Pearl C. Anderson
North Star Values: Inclusion, Education, Equity, and Legacy
CFT’s first six-figure gift came from an African American woman named Pearl C. Anderson. Pearl grew up in rural Louisiana during the days of racial segregation and was prohibited from going to school until the age of 12, when a school for Black children was finally built a few miles from her home.
Pearl had the opportunity to get an education through the generosity of philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, who built more than 5,000 schools across the South for Black children in the early 1900s. Every day, Pearl would walk by a plaque that credited the Rosenwald Fund, a foundation, with establishing her school. Pearl vowed to “pay it forward” when she had the opportunity, and she established the Pearl C. Anderson Fund at CFT in 1955, which continues to make grants in her name to this day.
Her story resonates deeply because it points to our shared human experience; we can be both the one in need of help and the one in a position to help. To advance community equity and honor our history and our first six-figure gift, we’re proud to announce the launch of the #IAMPEARL Fund at CFT.
The #IAMPEARL Fund is an employee-sponsored fund that will help direct charitable dollars to advance equity in the Black community in the focus areas of education, food security, business development, and financial literacy. We hope you will consider helping support this effort, which has an initial fundraising goal of $325,000, the value of Pearl’s initial gift.
Learn more about Pearl’s legacy and donate
This story was originally featured in our 2021 annual report. For additional details and content, click here.