Goldman Sachs is retooling its biggest diversity program to remove references to race.

The Wall Street giant four years ago launched its “One Million Black Women” program, a multibillion-dollar commitment to invest in Black women. In recent weeks, the bank removed mentions of “Black” from the program’s home page, without changing its name.

An educational program for Black businesswomen was also recently scrubbed of references to race. Goldman’s site now just says its “Black in Business” program helps entrepreneurs “stay in the black,” a reference to being profitable.

Goldman, like much of corporate America, has been combing through its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to ensure that it doesn’t run into legal troubles, while trying not to entirely abandon its pledges. The bank is treading a fine line. While Goldman has been changing words, the program’s sites still feature photos of Black women and research reports about “Black Womenomics.”

Supporters of Goldman’s DEI efforts fear the changes won’t just be cosmetic and will mean the loss of critical funding and investments.

President Trump’s targeting of DEI programs has led many companies , including Goldman’s rival Morgan Stanley , to water down language and open their programs to broader groups of people.

Reassessments of the programs began in 2023, when the Supreme Court ruled that race-based affirmative action in college admissions is unconstitutional. Not long afterward, Goldman opened up its Black in Business program to everyone.

Goldman’s legal division has been leading the continuing changes to One Million Black Women, at least in part to stay out of the Trump administration’s crosshairs, according to people familiar with the matter.

A senior Goldman executive now says One Million Black Women isn’t just for Black women, but for low- and moderate-income populations.

Nearly all of the investment commitments that fall under the program are now being made through Goldman’s Urban Investment Group, which helps Goldman stay compliant with a federal law requiring banks to serve low-income neighborhoods.

That group had already been responsible for much of the program’s commitments, but the original goal was to get other asset-management teams to consider investments that would support Black women.

One Million Black Women “is one component of our longstanding commitment and broader strategy focused on advancing small businesses, job creation, and economic growth in rural and urban communities across America,” said Asahi Pompey, Goldman’s global head of corporate engagement. “We regularly evaluate our programs to ensure they are impactful, align with the firm’s strategy, and are compliant with the law.”

Goldman Chief Executive Officer David Solomon hailed One Million Black Women as a way to close the “earnings gaps and also the wealth gaps that exist for Black women” when he went on a CBS morning show in March 2021 to talk about its launch.

The bank at the time—and until recent weeks—said that One Million Black Women would involve a $10 billion investment commitment and $100 million in philanthropy to drive economic opportunity for Black women by 2030.

Goldman’s philanthropic commitment was initially distributed to nonprofits led by Black women to help with operational expenses. Now Goldman is using the funding to cover costs associated with its Black in Business program.

The 10-week, mostly online educational program helps participants tailor their business plans. Travel expenses to Goldman’s New York office for an orientation and graduation are covered.

Briana Franklin is among those who had benefited from Goldman’s philanthropy.

Franklin co-founded The Prosp(a)rity Project, a nonprofit that offered financial coaching, student-debt relief and career services to Black women. It received nearly $200,000 in grants from the philanthropic piece of One Million Black Women, eventually accounting for nearly 40% of its total funding.

Then early last year Franklin said Goldman employees told her the bank was pivoting from its nonprofit program for Black women to focus on one that helps business owners more broadly. She was told her nonprofit wouldn’t be receiving any more money.

“It put us in a horrible position,” Franklin said. She said the nonprofit closed in August.

Participants in the Black in Business program say the program was transformative for their businesses. Hyacinth Tucker , founder of The Laundry Basket, which provides laundry and dry-cleaning services, says she used what she learned to expand her clientele and presence beyond Maryland to other states and Toronto.

Some Black in Business participants asked at an information session last year if funding for their businesses would be made available, according to a person who was present. Goldman said it would give them the resources to be able to find funds on their own.

Write to AnnaMaria Andriotis at annamaria.andriotis@wsj.com