Q3 2022

Awareness: Action-Oriented Economic Re-Education that Prioritizes the Black Experience

Consultrepreneurship 2022 (June – August)

For the past 7 weeks, we have empowered the 2022 Consultrepreneurship cohort to become confident, Black agents of change. As they near the end of 10 weeks of historically centered entrepreneurial and financial education and mentor-supported community-minded business concept development and rigorous consulting practicum activity, Consultrepreneurs are tasked with preparing to finalize two high-level presentations that challenge them to reflect on all that they have learned while putting their newly gained visionary leadership skills on display.

Orientation

Advancement: Activated & Hungry to Effect Change

Inaugural Alumni Conference

Our unique programs teach young Black aspiring visionaries how to make sense of the complex challenges they face as a result of the various roles Black people have played throughout the world’s economic history. Our goal is for every Black college student and recent graduate who graduates from one of our programs to overcome racially specific socioeconomic and psychological barriers through community-minded business ownership and wealth building.

In one of our most powerful efforts to encourage the continued behavioral change needed to ensure the socioeconomic advancement of our alumni, we reconnected with alums from each of our previous program years (2017-2021) in July for our first-ever alumni conference, A DIFFerent Way of Thinking: Creating a Life of Abundance Through Legacy Focused Living.

Trevor Rukwava, 2018 Consultrepreneurship Alum

Transformation: Developing Their World DIFFerently

A premise of our work is to educate aspiring Black visionaries on how to lead by example by creating a life that prioritizes personal wealth building for the purposes of establishing generational wealth through Black-benefitting nonprofits, social enterprises and philanthropic for-profits. As we settle into our sixth year of programming and more of our alumni are graduating and entering the real world, we are beginning to see more and more alumni transition into Black visionary leaders who are unafraid to be the change they want to see.

Consultrepreneur Dasia Miles-Langaigne in 2019

One of our biggest 360 moments has been working with 2019 alum, Dasia Miles-Langaigne, through our 2022 Consultrepreneurship, where she gets to be the business owner current students learn from and consult for through their consulting practicum.

Here is a Sneak Peek into the 2022 Cohort’s Consulting Practicum with Dasia

Learn More About DIFFvelopment

  • Nonprofit Power Podcast – Hear directly from the founders about why they started DIFFvelopment, the challenges they have faced fundraising as Black nonprofit leaders and how for many of the students they serve, connecting with DIFFvelopment was the first time they felt proud to be Black.
  • Building the Africa We Want Annual Conference – Watch this session on “Untapped Potential for Entrepreneurship in Black Communities,” where CEO & Co-Founder, Esi Kagale Agyeman Gillo shares her experiences and best practices as a Black entrepreneur, serving the global Black community.

Organizational Updates

Fundraising Progress

  • We are thankful to have received $100K in operational funding from Lennox Foundation, which has supported our cause since DIFFvelopment’s inception. We are also grateful to have received an in-kind financial management donation from Oracle NetSuite’s Social Impact program for nonprofits, which will enable us to improve how we manage our finances through its nonprofit-specific solution. And last but not least, we are proud to announce that our long-term volunteer, Nafeza Kingston, launched DIFFvelopment’s first Alumni Giving Circle after providing alums with a powerful presentation on the importance of giving back to, and fundraising on behalf of, DIFFvelopment as it continues to bridge major employment, financial and entrepreneurial gaps for them despite our consistent lack of sufficient funding.

How You Can Support Our Efforts

  • Fill out our Professional Mentorship & Fundraising Collective Enrollment Form and let us know how you’d like to get involved with DIFFvelopment. During the month of August, which is Black Philanthropy Month, we encourage you to offer up your fundraising support. As a fundraiser, you can engage in peer-to-peer fundraising, hold an event on our behalf or spread the word about our campaigns!