How a Houston Baker is Raising Money for Anti-Racism Organizations
“That’s the most classic, old fashioned way to raise money.”
Rukmini Das usually only bakes once a year, on Thanksgiving. But, like many other Americans, she started baking more often when stay-at-home orders were implemented in late March during the COVID-19 pandemic’s spread in the United States
Das, 24, left Princeton, N.J. in March to quarantine with her family in Houston, Texas. She was working from home as a strategy and advisory consultant, but in her spare time, she baked: cakes, pies, banana bread, and more. Her cakes caught the attention of one of her friends, who told Das she should sell them — but Das had no interest in becoming a professional baker.
But when protests for racial justice erupted across the country after the police killing of George Floyd, and hundreds of social media calls to donate to anti-racism organizations popped up, Das immediately thought of doing a bake sale. Since she had returned home, she felt sad that she couldn’t go to protests in New York.
“That’s the most classic, old fashioned way to raise money,” Das told The Interlude. “In Houston, there were so many things going on, but I didn’t personally feel super comfortable just because I didn’t want to put my family at risk by going in person.”
Photo courtesy of Rukmini Das
Das quickly set up an Instagram account, Cakes for BLM, and a straightforward process: people put in an order, they (or Das, if the customer doesn’t have a preference) choose an anti-racism organization, Das vets the organization, and a donation is made to the organization in exchange for a cake. She tends to make two to three cakes a week, and people in the Houston area can pick up orders from her once they’re complete. Since starting the initiative in June, Cakes for BLM has expanded to include a marketing team and three more volunteer bakers who found her through Instagram — one in New Jersey, one in California, and another in Houston. They have also been able to donate over one thousand dollars to anti-racism organizations like the Innocence Project, Black Women’s Blueprint, and the National Black Justice Coalition.
For Das, the bulk of Cakes for BLM work takes place toward the end of the week, as she works long hours in consulting. She starts baking on Thursday and has the orders ready for pickup by Saturday or Sunday. When she first started out, most orders would be placed via Instagram direct messages. Now, though, Cakes for BLM has a website where customers can place orders.
Photo courtesy of Rukmini Das.
Cakes for BLM usually takes a minimum donation of $50. Das sets aside about $5 to $10 to cover the cost of ingredients, regardless of whether people choose to donate more. After an order is fulfilled, it gets highlighted on the Instagram page, where Das provides details about the organization proceeds were donated to, in order to spread awareness.
“There have been people who reach out to me being like, ‘Oh, that’s really cool. I’m gonna donate there,’” Das said. “Because we don’t live in the same city, they can’t get a cake for me, but they can see that post and be like, ‘That’s a really cool organization, I want to donate there.’”
Initially, she would choose an organization based on lists of anti-racism organizations in need of funds that were being passed around on social media, but she’s also open to customers suggesting others that they are interested in. Das vets each organization to make sure they are specifically U.S.-based anti-racism initiatives.
“There’s a lot of grassroots ones or local ones that I wouldn’t have known of,” Das said. “I’d never heard of them, and then other people suggested and they’re like, ‘Oh, actually, I want to donate here.’ And by opening it up for people to donate to whatever organization or fund that they would like, it actually opens up a lot more knowledge even for myself.”
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Nearly three months after making the first donation, she’s still seeing traction. Now, she’s looking into her long-term goals. She acknowledged that it’s unsustainable for her to bake two to three cakes each week for the rest of her life, but she’s hoping that after the time comes where she can’t continue to bake every week, Cakes for BLM will have expanded to include many volunteer bakers who can continue raising money for anti-racism organizations.
“It’s a fun pastime that a lot of people have,” Das said. “And one of the things I think a lot of bakers have in common is that we love to share our food. You know, part of it is the artistry of making something that looks beautiful.”
Photo courtesy of Rukmini Das.
Das also thinks that Cakes for BLM can serve as a long-term investment in anti-racism efforts. She noted that people are looking to make their contributions to the Black Lives Matter movement last — people don’t just want to donate to an organization once and then forget about them.
“One way is obviously to do repeating donations — you know, put your card down and forget about it,” Das said. “There’s a bunch of ways to do it. And this could just be another option, right? How cool is it that like, ‘Oh, next time I order a birthday cake, why not order through Cakes for BLM If there’s one nearby, because then that money is going to a good cause as well.’”
