THE LINKS, INCORPORATED
The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. The membership consists of nearly 15,000 professional women of color in 289 chapters located in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the United Kingdom. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry.
Our Core Values are Friendship, Integrity, Honesty, Service, Commitment, Family Relationships, Courage, Respect for Self and Others, Legacy, Confidentiality, Responsibility, and Accountability. The members of The Links, Incorporated are influential decision makers and opinion leaders. The Links, Incorporated has attracted many distinguished women who are individual achievers and have made a difference in their communities and the world. They are business and civic leaders, role models, mentors, activists and volunteers who work towards a common vision by engaging like-minded organizations and individuals for partnership. Links members contribute more than 1 million documented hours of community service annually – strengthening their communities and enhancing the nation. The organization is the recipient of awards from the UN Association of New York and the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation for its premier programs.
The outstanding programming of The Links, Incorporated has five facets which include Services to Youth, The Arts, National Trends and Services, International Trends and Services and Health and Human Services. The programs are implemented through strategies such as public information and education, economic development, and public policy campaigns.
“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher”
The links foundation, incorporated
- The Links Foundation, Incorporated is the philanthropic arm of The Links, Incorporated, established in 1979 to enhance and expand the philanthropic endeavors of The Links, Incorporated.
- The Links Foundation, Incorporated has contributed more than $25 million to charitable causes since its founding.
- In 2018, The Links Foundation, Incorporated named its fifth $1 million grantee – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
- Other million-dollar grantees include the United Negro College Fund, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., the National Civil Rights Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American Culture and History in Washington, D.C.
- During 2015-2016, The Foundation awarded more than $3 million in grants to support chapter programming in the areas of STEM education, childhood obesity, heart health awareness, and financial literacy.