Mission
The Young, Black & Giving Back Institute (YBGB) serves Black-led, Black-benefiting nonprofits and its leaders with a mission to provide capacity building, convenings, and funding that uniquely meets their social impact needs.
Vision
Our vision is to prepare the next generation of young, black professionals for effective community leadership and philanthropy such that they produce sustainable and innovative solutions to their communities’ most pressing issues.
What We Do
YBGB’s core efforts seek to close the racial funding and capacity-building gap that exists within institutional philanthropy. Programs offered by prominent nonprofit training institutions are often too expensive and not targeted to the unique needs of Black-led, Black-benefiting nonprofits. Research has also shown that major funding institutions rarely target giving to Black-led organizations or causes addressing the most pressing needs in Black communities. As a result, Black-led organizations operate with vastly lower budgets, and face ongoing challenges to organizational sustainability and growth.
In its own way, YBGB addresses the aforementioned inequities by providing safe spaces for Black nonprofit professionals to convene and learn about topics, such as board governance and fundraising, a national giving day exclusively for Black-led/Black-benefiting nonprofits and a fund that provides mini-grants to Black-led/Black-benefiting nonprofits.
Who We Are
Our Values
We encourage our community to lead a life of authenticity, giving their time, talent and treasure to causes that align with their heart, values and points of view.
Service without trust brings no real healing, no real change. Our model for giving back relies on building sincere leaders who serve with integrity.
We emphasize the value of respect in all of our programs, shaping a generation of young, black professionals who have a genuine regard for those whom they have the opportunity to serve.
We believe stewardship and service sit at the heart of social justice. When we realize that our lives are intertwined and our destinies are interconnected, service becomes less an act of kindness and more an act of responsibility.
We train young, black leaders to stand as leading voices for change, acting with openness, accountability and honesty.
Our Team
Ebonie Johnson Cooper
Founder & Executive Director
Ebonie Johnson Cooper believes Black giving is magic! For more than fifteen years Ebonie has used her research, thought-leadership, and expertise to inform national and local projects and speaking engagements related to nonprofit racial equity, African American donor engagement, church ministry, partnership development, and fundraising strategies. She has worked with institutions and nonprofits that include, The Lilly Endowment, The Center for Congregations, IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Central Carolina Community Foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, The Washington Area Women’s Foundation, Odyssey Impact, and Teach for America.
Ebonie currently serves full-time in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland as Faculty Director, Nonprofit Executive Education and Training for The Do Good Institute and an Associate Clinical Professor. In her spare time, she serves as a trusted nonprofit consultant through Friends of Ebonie, LLC, and Founding Executive Director of the Young, Black & Giving Back Institute (YBGB).
Ebonie was recognized by ESSENCE Magazine (April 2022, November 2016) and JET Magazine(September 2013), as one of the nation’s top leaders for her innovation around NextGen African – American philanthropy. Ebonie’s leadership and achievements have also been featured on CNN’s HLN network, The Washington Post, and ABC-7 (NY). She is a National Museum of African American History & Culture Ambassador, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Black Benefactors Giving Circle (DC). She is also an ordained Itinerant Deacon for AME Church’s 2nd Episcopal District and serves faithfully as the Young Adult Minister at Kingdom Fellowship AME Church. Ebonie is a proud graduate of North Carolina A&T State University (BS), New York University (MS) and Wesley Theological Seminary (MDiv.). Her greatest role however, is being a mother to her precocious, lovable, adorable toddler son.
Courtney McSwain
Communications Consultant
Courtney is a multi-passionate writer, communications strategist, storyteller and advocate dedicated to narrative advocacy and affirming marginalized voices.
Courtney currently works as nonprofit communications strategist and consultant through her company CM Storytelling. As a consultant, Courtney helps nonprofits and cause-driven leaders clarify their brand stories with cohesive communications strategies and creative content. Courtney has worked with transformative changemakers addressing issues as varied as education, youth development, human trafficking, diversity and inclusion, and philanthropy in the Black community.
Courtney’s work as an independent communications consultant and narrative advocate builds upon a decade of work in the nonprofit sector, where she honed her communications and writing skills as a development officer for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and as a research analyst with the Institute for Higher Education Policy.
Courtney received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C., and her master’s degree in public policy from American University in Washington, D.C.
Neema Rwebangira
Programs Consultant
Neema has experience managing advocacy projects on agriculture and nutrition for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UKAid, and USAID. She has worked as a program assistant for YBGB since 2020, coordinating the 2021 Give 8/28 giving day and managing day-to-day administration and logistics. She obtained a BA degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Cape Town, MA in Gender Studies from the University of Dar es Salaam, and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Our Board
Anthony V. Stevens
Chair
Anthony V. Stevens is a proud small business owner & father. Currently, he serves as the Managing Partner for the Vernon Group, LLC, a Economically Disenfranchised Woman-Owned HUB-Zone Certified small business focused on providing contract services to the federal government and the Owner-Operator of Vernon Financial, a Northwestern Mutual Company subsidiary. For the better part of the last decade, Anthony oversaw strategic planning functions for a multi-unit, multi-million dollar regional impact committee while leading a team with a focus on community impact and programmatic capacity building on behalf of the Mayor of the District of Columbia. As a professional Strategic Account Executive, Anthony is focused on consistently increasing new business revenue and a growing client base while also committing himself to enhancing the experience of Black & Brown people through accessible and equitable services. He believes people deserve the best in class and he understands the power of the people’s ability to deliver in a fun, healthy, safe, and service-oriented environment. Anthony says he has, “Made changing the lives of his clients–and the people that mean the most to them–his chosen way of life.”
Anthony completed his MBA at the George Washington University and received a B.A. from the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, neither of which would be possible without North
Carolina Agricultural & Technical University. Anthony is a proud DC Native with strong roots in the South and resides in the beautiful Congress Heights community of Ward 8 in the District of
Columbia with his growing family.
Shakisha Morgan, Esq.
Vice-Chair
Shakisha Morgan, Esq. is a learner, strategist, and connector with over a decade of legal experience. An educator at heart, Shakisha is affectionately known as The Legacy Counselor™, and she is the Principal Attorney of The Morgan Firm, LLC. Since graduating from Stanford University & Georgetown Law, Shakisha has devoted herself to increasing access to Black generational wealth through her work conducting community & corporate workshops, delivering guest lectures and keynotes, and providing transformative advice to her clients. She is a published author on topics related to estate planning, multigenerational wealth building, Black wealth, and servant leadership. Shakisha is a philanthropist and enjoys serving as a mentor and a board member of the Young, Black & Giving Back Institute, Inc. She is the proud daughter of Jamaican immigrants, a ride-or-die sister, devoted wife, and loving mother of a triumphant toddler. Outside of the career that she adores, you can find Shakisha co-hosting the Mary & Martha Podcast, where she encourages Black women to live impactful lives of faith.
Melen Hagos
Secretary
Melen Hagos joined the Greater Washington Community Foundation in January 2017. Melen currently leads the overall strategy, vision, and operational aspects of several funding collaboratives. Previously, she worked at the Brookings Institution, where she served as the Senior Center Coordinator working on public and private events, communications, and donor engagement for international education projects. Her previous experience also includes fellowships with She Should Run, a nonprofit organization which works to elect female candidates to national political office.
In 2017, Melen was selected to participate in the Young Professionals Program, an initiative of the Leadership Center for Excellence which invests in high-potential leaders in the DC Metropolitan area. This program provides the opportunity to develop new professional skills and capacities, while also acquiring the tools, visibility and network necessary to engage in their broader community. She holds a B.A. in International Development.
Emerald Adeyemi
Treasurer
Emerald Adeyemi is a Senior Advisor at the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP). In this role, she supports NCFP’s fundraising strategy and donor engagement initiatives to advance the field of family philanthropy in pursuit of a just and equitable society.
An astute strategist and purpose-driven leader, Emerald has more than a decade of experience in the social impact sector. Throughout her career, she has helped organizations strengthen their operations and sustainability through fundraising strategy, systems building, and cultivating enduring relationships with stakeholders and donors. Most recently, she was the Director of Membership and Development at Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) where she worked to strengthen organizational capacity and expand its membership community.
Prior to GEO, Emerald held fundraising roles at community-based organizations in the DC Metro Area including Leadership Greater Washington, CityBridge Foundation, and Higher Achievement.
Emerald is a proud first-gen college graduate of Howard University and an accredited Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). She is a member of the Black Benefactors giving circle and resides in Howard County, Maryland with her husband and sons.
Chelsea Brown
Member
Chelsea Brown is an award-winning philanthropist, social impact advocate, and entrepreneur. Trained as a nonprofit management professional, Chelsea has more than eight years of experience in philanthropy, fundraising, sponsorships, and grantmaking. Through her passion to bring diversity and inclusion to philanthropy, she received the Diverse Communities Scholarship through the Association of Fundraising Professionals International Conference and the Charles R. Stephens Scholarship for the AADO/CASE Conference on Diverse Philanthropy and Leadership. In 2019, she was selected to be a Forbes Under 30 Scholar, University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute Philanthropy Fellow, and a William Randolph Hearst Fellow with the Aspen Institute’s Philanthropy and Social Innovation Program. This past year, she was highlighted as a “Black Woman to Watch in Philanthropy” in BlackHer’s study on Black philanthropy titled “The Black Woman’s Guide to Philanthropy.” As an advocate for community engagement, she has served on more than five boards, including the Winthrop University Foundation Board of Directors. Currently, Chelsea serves as the Founder of Black Mill, a firm focused on providing Black professionals with strategies for engagement, programs, and partnerships with nonprofit and for-profit partners internationally. Chelsea received her Master of Public Management from University of Maryland in 2021, and her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from Winthrop University in 2014.
Our Advisors
Marcus Littles
Member
Tracey Webb
Member
Kelly Veney Darnell
Member
Jessica Wells-Hasan
Member