National Philanthropy Dayis a special day set aside to honor the work and contributions of the people and organizations that have positively impacted our communities. As such,Friends of Ebonie, known for its civic engagement and career enrichment services, will celebrate this day with two events designed to help groom young professionals of color into thriving modern day philanthropists. The first event, Defining Young Black Philanthropy will take place on Thursday November 15th from 6pm- 9pm in Harlem, NY at ImageNation RAW SPACE.
Defining Young Black Philanthropy will begin with a networking mixer over drinks provided by Ciroc. The mixer will be followed by the highlight of the evening, a panel discussion on social influence and philanthropy featuring top civic and corporate philanthropy influencers. Panelists include: Mike Muse of President Obama’s National Finance Committee, Virginia Almendarez of The Apollo Theater, Nubia Murray of JP Morgan Chase & Co., and Amanda Ebokosia, of The GEM Project and contributor for Forbes and Black Enterprise. Jovian Irvin, of Teach For America & Janelle Monae’s Wondaland Arts Society, will moderate the panel. The evening will conclude with a meet and greet featuring non-profit organizations seeking to engage with diverse young professionals through board work, volunteering or young patron membership. Non-profits confirmed to attend are: Generation Schools, New York Needs You, Figure Skating in Harlem, Girls Write Now and The Apollo Theater’s Young Patrons Program. When asked why this event is so important, Friends of Ebonie Founder and President, Ebonie Johnson Cooper said, “We are the next generation of givers. We have the desire, resources and most importantly, the influence to begin tell the world of philanthropy who we are. The time is now to develop sustainable giving practices.” Additional details about the affair can be found here. Requests from media to attend should be made by November 14 at 5pm.
On Sunday November 18, 2012, millenials will have yet another opportunity to grow as young philanthropists. Friends of Ebonie will host a webinar titled “Plan Right. Give Better.” This webinar, the seventh to be hosted by the organization and will feature Ryan C. Mack, President of The Optimum Institute of Economic Empowerment Inc. Mack is a financial advisor and renowned public speaker who has been featured on CNN & MSNBC. He will educate participants on financial literacy and budgeting as a foundation to sound giving. Along with Mack will be guest speaker, Samaia Muhammad, Major Gifts Officer at The Advancement Project. Muhammad will bring a surplus of knowledge surrounding donor relationship building and individual fundraising. To register, click here.
*Both events hosted by Friends of Ebonie in celebration of National Philanthropy Day represent the beginning of a young philanthropic movement that will push millennials of color out of their comfort zones to become the generation of changemakers, community leaders and philanthropists they desire to be.
