In 2023, Damilola Abimboye, an MPNL graduate student, receives an MPNL Award for Black Emerging Fundraising Professionals.
In partnership with Carleton, the Black Canadian Fundraisers’ Collective offers this award to Black students in the MPNL program.
“Raised with the notion of service to mankind, I have always been interested in social welfare and social-injustice-related issues,” Abimboye says. “This interest increased during my undergraduate studies. As an undergraduate student, I participated in various volunteer opportunities, and I was keen about helping the surrounding community. This drive led me to start a non-profit organization to assist marginalized individuals and families.”
“With regards to changes in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector, I would like to see two main changes,” she says. “The first pertains to the challenge of lack of participation of racialized individuals in the industry. Hence an increase in participation of racialized minority individuals like Black Women in the sector is what I hope to see. This is in reference to the lack of fair representation or concentration of not-for-profit agencies serving racialized communities in Canada.”
The second change relates to a lack of coordination among organizations.
“This challenge has resulted in the reinventing of the wheel when it comes to programs and activities,” she explains. “A more coordinated system or a networked approach with respect to the landscape of the sector would help in promoting efficiency and productivity in the sector.”
Please visit PANL Perspectives for stories from past recipients of the MPNL Award for Black Emerging Fundraising Professionals, and click here for info about how people can donate to this award.
Damilola Abimboye is on LinkedIn. Banner photo is courtesy of Jamshed Khedri.
