June 19th marks Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when news of emancipation finally reached enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas—two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and months after the Civil War officially ended. That day, Major General Gordon Granger delivered General Order No. 3, announcing that all enslaved people were free.
Though the 13th Amendment—which officially abolished slavery—would not be ratified until December of that year, June 19 became a powerful symbol of freedom delayed, yet ultimately delivered. Today, Juneteenth is a federal holiday and a time to honor the past, reflect on racial justice, and take action.
This Juneteenth, we’re spotlighting seven nonprofit organizations working year-round to uplift Black communities and fight for civil rights. Whether you're donating, volunteering, or spreading awareness, now is the time to take action. For more volunteering, donation, and employee engagement ideas, revisit our Black History Month Resource Page.
The NAACP’s mission is to achieve equity, political rights, and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights, eliminate discrimination, and accelerate the well-being, education, and economic security of Black people and all persons of color
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation is the arm of the ACLU that conducts litigation and communication efforts. The foundation provides legal representation in cases involving issues of civil liberties and constitutional rights ranging from administrative hearings to trials and appeals.
Thurgood Marshall College Fund supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending its 47 member-schools that include public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), medical schools, and law schools. Its mission is to ensure student success by promoting educational excellence and preparing the next generation of workforce talent through leadership development.
Recognizing the significance of Juneteenth, The Juneteenth Foundation works to champion corporate and citizen engagement for healing and advocacy for Black Americans. Throughout the year, they foster relationships with a variety of organizations and individuals to make their mission a reality, annually it pioneers four main initiatives geared towards creating awareness and promoting Juneteenth.
Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is a coalition of organizations working together for policy reform, community building, and advocacy to address systemic issues affecting Black communities.
The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.
The Early Excellence Project aims to narrow the opportunity gap in early learning systems by enriching the education of Black and marginalized children through literacy programs and capacity-building support for childcare providers.
Deed’s Actions feature enables employees to engage in meaningful, everyday gestures—such as exploring the history of Juneteenth—while giving companies the opportunity to recognize those efforts with charitable donations to aligned nonprofits.
Here's how Actions look in practice:
Check out Deed's new Action Library, which allows our partners to publish existing actions to their environment with a few clicks.
How to engage employees on Juneteenth
With Juneteenth now recognized as a federal holiday, many workplaces across the U.S. will be observing the day with office closures. This provides a unique opportunity for social impact leaders to engage employees—whether through a thoughtful donation match message sent ahead of the break or by facilitating meaningful conversations when everyone returns. Juneteenth is a powerful moment to honor the legacy of those who fought for freedom, acknowledge the progress made, and recommit to the ongoing work of advancing racial justice.
We urge our partners to use the resources above to create campaigns for their employees ahead of the holiday-highlighting these important organizations and take advantage of our Actions Library. We also urge others to support the organizations highlighted above. The Deed team is here to help every step of the way.