Philanthropy

ELC DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES

PHILANTHROPY

Expanding Emphasis on Community

The ELC remains committed to nurturing Black talent at all levels, including college students. This year, the Philanthropy department had the privilege of directly engaging more than 150 students through The ELC Scholars program, the Black Male Initiative, and the Boulé-Base 11 Parity Project Innovation Challenge. The department developed several events and programs that sharpen college students’ professional and leadership skills, enhance their financial literacy, nurture their mental health, and bolster their entrepreneurial pursuits.

This year, the Philanthropy department also set new standards of ELC engagement with the Black non-profit community. The department was proud to launch a new grantmaking process that enables Black-led and or Black-centric non-profits to compete for ELC grants ranging from $10,000-$100,000 for a total of $400,000 across all organizations awarded. This new system allows The ELC to expand its reach to non-profits around the country, fulfilling its promise to continue making impactful change throughout the Black community. Overall, the Philanthropy department has remained steadfast in its focus to promote, expand, and sustain philanthropic giving at The ELC.

Black Male Initiative

DEPARTMENT LEAD LaTese Briggs

Chief Philanthropy Officer

To further The ELC’s commitment to the community and deepen its work in higher education initiatives, this year the organization expanded and refined the Black Male Initiative (BMI). Supporting young Black men across the campuses of Delaware State University, Howard University and North Carolina A&T State University, the initiative provided academic and social wraparound support to improve GPAs and matriculation rates among Black men in college. Due to the work of the BMI, over 500 young men now have greater access to academic tutoring, professional and peer mentoring, mental health support, internships, and other additive social services to help them navigate day-to-day challenges that impact them outside the classroom.

The ELC acknowledges the unique set of challenges that Black college students faced in the past two years and continue to face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated by racial inequality and policy brutality. To help students cope with the stress and trauma brought on by the pandemic, The ELC helps support them with mental health resources that are available at each of the three BMI campuses.

ELC Scholars

The ELC awarded $1.5 million to 132 undergraduate and graduate students from over 40 educational institutions around the United States. More than 1,000 applications (76% increase from our previous cycle) were vetted by the scholarship selection committee and corporate sponsors over the course of three months, culminating with the selection of 94 new ELC scholars, including 88 undergraduate students and six graduate students. The ELC received the support of 15 corporate scholarship partners to

partners included: Bank of America, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Brunswick Corporation, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Hewlett-Packard, HSBC, Johnson & Johnson, Linde, Lowe’s, Moody’s, Nationwide, Otsuka, Synchrony and The Coca-Cola Foundation.

 16% increase of submission/completion rate due to easy navigation of applications site and direct email campaigns by ELC Scholarship team encouraging candidates to submit applications.

 66% increase in total number of applications due to higher brand awareness, dedicated scholarship microsite and well-designed social media promotion. In 2021 the department reviewed almost 600 applications and this year, the department reviewed over 1,000.

Parity Project Innovation Challenge

During the summer, The ELC hosted the Grand Prize winners of The Parity Project Innovation Challenge, an annual online competition sponsored by the Parity Project, a national call to action to achieve economic parity for Black America by 2030. The Parity Project Innovation Challenge is the combined effort of Base 11 and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity Inc. (The Boulé) to showcase the talents of young, diverse innovators of the 21st century.

Topics for this year’s Parity Project Innovation Challenge included ideas for how science and technology can help achieve economic parity for Black America. Winners were chosen from three different categories of high school, college, and early career adults by a panel of judges. In addition to cash prizes, the winners were offered an opportunity to showcase their ideas in front of executives, investors, and changemakers in Washington, D.C., New York City, and at the Grand Boulé meeting of the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity in the Bahamas.

ELC members helped shape the ideas of these young Black leaders by providing feedback on their winning submissions during an informative Q&A session. The four Grand Prize winners in this year’s inaugural cohort had unique ideas on how they could create economic parity in marginalized communities:

 Nova Sportsman, a 15-year-old student, wants to aid period poverty that affects young girls and minorities most by creating a “Menstruation Station” — a vending machine that would dispense feminine hygiene products and safe-sex materials;  Kiante Bush, an HBCU graduate, plans to help circulate money within the Black community through “Venture for Them” — a cohort of Black innovators;  Jasmine Baccus, one of our ELC Scholar alumni, wants to create a space for “Black Luxury” in the digital fashion space through handbags and NFTs; and  Chanda Lowrance, graduate student and veteran, plans to create a permanent supportive housing community through aiding homelessness within

Baltimore.

The event ended in a luncheon of the Grand Prize winners, ELC members, and members of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity for an opportunity to network with one another.

Honors Symposium

After a two-year hiatus, ELC Scholars connected in-person to participate in the 2022 Honors Symposium in Washington, D.C. The symposium featured a Pinning Ceremony, a networking Reception at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and a separate viewing of the ELC Recognition Gala, which was followed by an after party for ELC Scholars. The purpose of this inaugural ceremony was to welcome the Scholars into The ELC community and reaffirm The ELC’s commitment to strengthening the Black talent pipeline. Scholars were pinned by ELC members and corporate sponsors, whose leadership at the apex of corporate America left the students inspired and motivated to achieve even more.

2022 Honors Symposium partners included 3M, Bank of America, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Brunswick Corporation, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HSBC, Johnson & Johnson, Linde, Lowe’s, Moody’s, Nationwide, NBA, Northrop Grumman, Otsuka, Synchrony, The Coca-Cola Foundation, and USAA.

 “I liked networking with my fellow scholars

comparing our very different but very similar experiences throughout college. I enjoyed talking to the alumni of the program and corporate leaders about their journeys.”

 “Simply put, the Honors Symposium challenged

me to quit the easy and by-chance route to success and rather pursue intentional success which may seem harder. It will be worth the price.”

 “... I got to hear people who look like me tell me

to follow my real dreams outside of the corporate setting and make a strong impact taking the entrepreneurial route.”

 “The honors symposium gave me the chance to

really acknowledge where I am and set sights on where I am going. Rejoicing in the work I’ve done but recognizing that there is more.” (36% survey response rate)

 93% agreed the Honors Symposium exceeded their expectations  93% agreed the Honors Symposium was very/extremely organized  100% found the ELC Scholarship team helpful  56% said the Honors Symposium was better than other conferences they’ve attended in 2022, 37% had not attended a professional development conference in 2022  83% learned the general importance of networking  83% identified skills needed to achieve a higher-level of success  73% considered different companies to pursue for internship/future employment

What can you expect from Philanthropy in 2023?

On January 3, 2023, the Philanthropy team will launch, in partnership with corporate sponsors, approximately 15 undergraduate and graduate scholarship programs and three signature ELC scholarship programs – The Alvaro L. Martins scholarship for young men, The Ann Fudge scholarship for young women, and the Protecting Black Voices scholarship for students committed to civic responsibility and community engagement.

The department will also host its first virtual career fair for ELC Scholar Alumni in the spring of 2023, and an in-person career fair during Gala Week in Washington, DC in October 2023. Stay tuned for the announcement of the nonprofit winners of the ELC Community Impact grants early in the first quarter of 2023. The next grant cycle will commence in the second quarter of 2023. Interested in having your company support The ELC’s philanthropic efforts? If so, please complete the ELC Sponsorship interest form to express interest.

VIEW THE 2023 ELC SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES