Mission and Vision             The mission and vision of the Black United Fund movement is to create, support, and sustain African American cultural, economic, educational, and social institutions through grassroots fund-raising and philanthropy. The funds are used to develop and support a vibrant African American nonprofit sector. The Black United Fund of Sacramento Valley, Inc. (BUFSV), has contributed to this mission and vision in the Sacramento Valley since 1992. Our History of Giving            African Americans come from a long history of struggle. Their struggle is propelled by the desire for freedom and by the knowledge that freedom is possible only by assuming responsibility for each other's survival.  It is that attitude which accounts for the various philanthropic activities of African-Americans dating back to the beginning of the African presence in this country.           The African-American spirit of giving can be seen in families who "adopted" children that had been sold away from their natural families.  The spirit can be seen in the establishing of clandestine midnight schools by the few blacks who had some education and could teach others how to read and write.  It can be seen in the creation of secret benevolent societies which provided goods, services and social continuity when families and extended families were disrupted by slavery.  Both during and after the Civil War, blacks raised money to finance their own migration to the north and west.  After emancipation, they raised money to start schools and colleges, health clinics, and homes for the orphaned and aged.          In 1968, Walter Bremond established the first Black United Fund in Los Angeles, California, and went from there to establish the National Black United Fund in 1972. Since then, affiliate organizations have been established in various cities around the country.  All share the same mission and vision, and all use annual employer payroll deduction charitable giving campaigns as their primary way of raising funds.             Since  1992, the Black United Fund of Sacramento Valley, Inc., has given small grants to over twenty local grassroots nonprofit organizations and assisted numerous others in locating resources necessary for them to continue their work on behalf of the communities they serve.