Black Philanthropy Month for Everyone: A Dinner Party
Join us on Wednesday, August 26th at Black Garnet Books!
This is gonna be so good. Y’all. Y’all! I can’t wait for this. We had to postpone the inaugural For the Love…! event last month, and for its second go, we’ve re-imagined it a bit. And it’s gonna be SO.GOOD. I genuinely, truly, really hope you’ll join us, if you’re in Minnesota!
All the Details You Need
➡️ Join us for this inaugural For the Love…! event, the start of what will be a series of down-to-earth gatherings and discussions focused on things that bother us about our current lives together in community... and how we'd like to see them change for the better. We're making a new world, here — together.
➡️ This first event is celebrating Black Philanthropy Month — which is a global celebration observed every August to recognize, amplify, and invest in Black-led giving, funding equity, and community change. Founded in 2011 by Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland, the movement highlights financial, time, and talent contributions across the African diaspora… and is now the largest global movement for Black philanthropy.
➡️ Wednesday, August 26th | 6:30-8:30 PM @ Black Garnet Books
➡️ Our delicious dinner will be from Afro Deli.
➡️ We will have a conversation featuring insights and stories from our special guests Mallory Mitchell and Jonathan C.W. Jones... and explore how we can all embrace Black philanthropy more.
➡️ More re: Mallory: Rapidly emerging as a sought-after keynote speaker, Mallory Mitchell is redefining fundraising leadership with her radically warm, community-centric approach. As the co-founder of Aligned Strategy Group, she's sparked transformational change nationwide by challenging the rules that hold fundraisers back. With experience spanning major gifts to development director roles, Mallory creates light bulb moments that shift cultures toward abundance and equity. Her commitment to advancing racial equity earned her the 2021 National Philanthropy Day Award from AFP Minnesota. Featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy and a former University of Minnesota adjunct professor, Mallory provides practical wisdom to help nonprofit leaders claim their confidence in fundraising.
➡️ More re: Jonathan: A seasoned community leader, Jonathan C.W. Jones is a Minnesota-based champion of representation, mentoring, and support in education for communities of color. He is the founder and Executive Director of the UpLiFT Movement, CEO of Ideation4, and an educator and administrator who has served in multiple schools in the Twin Cities area. While he earned his M.Ed. in Special Education and Teaching from Penn State University, and a K-12 Principal Administrative Licensure and Certificate in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, he is an especially proud alum of Xavier University of Louisiana, an HBCU based in New Orleans.
➡️ Our Agenda: While eating your delicious dinner in this lovely setting, you’ll have a chance to hear stories and insights from Mallory and Jonathan, about their experiences in the world of philanthropy… and you’ll also have a chance to join the discussion! In small and larger group discussion, we’ll unpack ways that Black philanthropy can become something we all embrace more.
➡️ Who This Is For: This gathering is for anyone who cares about working for better communities, in community — which is hopefully everyone reading this! We especially welcome people who are actively participating in the “industry” of the modern-day system of philanthropy (from fundraisers, to individual and family donors, to business-based community relations folks, to foundation founders or staffers or board members, to nonprofit board members, to nonprofit staffers, etc.). We want YOU to come… but if you can’t for whatever reason, please share this opportunity with folks who you think should be there! Thank you! 🙏🏻
In addition to essential support from Mission Growth Partners, this event is made possible by our sponsoring partner, Aspasia Collaborative.
MANY THANKS to the founder of Aspasia, Angela Schlesinger, for her enthusiastic support of this gathering.
Angela and Aspasia should be your first call when you need help reimagining your nonprofit board — especially if that process is related to your fundraising needs, which she also deeply understands!
I wish I was closer and I wish it was safer for me to travel to the US. Enjoy every bit of this!