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Unmasked: Giving Black
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About This Program
Join the conversation of traditional and contemporary philanthropy in the Black community.
The anthro-root of philanthropy is “love of mankind,” which directly speaks to the overall historic Black philanthropy experience. Traditions of giving back in the Black community have largely involved creating a way out of no way, making it an intrinsic and often unspoken thread in our community. Although times have brought new traditions, practices, and givers, the intentionality of Black philanthropy has remained indelible.
For this special Unmasked conversation, we have invited leaders and experts of Black philanthropy in our city to share with you the unseen ways giving back has made a mark in Charlotte and beyond. We discuss philanthropy’s background in the Black community within a national and even diasporic context, sharing rich stories and age-old practices that are sure to inspire and motivate. We re-imagine conventional assumptions surrounding philanthropy, opening the possibility of a new sphere of givers who can support our ecosystem in innovative ways. Finally, we discuss the vital role of humanitarianism in today’s pandemic-ridden struggles of civil unrest, noting how innovative giving back will be a major tool of connectivity and change, as it has been for centuries prior.
Our guest panelists are Kelly Davis, Executive Director for Thomas Davis Defending Dreams Foundation (TDDDF), Herb Gray, CEO for Life Enhancement Services (LES) and Valaida Fullwood, author of Giving Back. This conversation will be led by CrossRoads Corporation Executive Director Tiffany Capers.
The discussion will be streamed via the Gantt Center's official YouTube channel at 7 pm on Tuesday, August 11.
How To Participate
Viewing this program is free and open to the public. To chat during the program and contribute your perspective, you will need a YouTube account with a Gmail email address prior to the program. If you do not have a YouTube account, click here for a step-by-step tutorial on creating a YouTube account.
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About The Panelists & Moderator
Kelly Davis
Kelly Davis, wife of Washington Football Team and former Carolina Panther linebacker Thomas Davis, met her husband during his rookie season with the Panthers. As Executive Director for the Thomas Davis Defending Dreams Foundation (TDDDF), mother of four and on-camera family relationship expert this woman is far from the average NFL wife.
Kelly provides leadership to TDDDF board; serving as the liaison to connect the Foundation to communities in the Charlotte; Greenville, S.C. and Shellman, Ga. areas. The Davis’ formed the nonprofit organization in 2007 as a catalyst that serves underprivileged children, with an emphasis on students in middle school. TDDDF has distributed more than $800,000 worth of aid since its inception. In 2018, she was honored by UNCF as a Maya Angelou Women Who Lead honoree for her work with the foundation. She volunteers at her children’s schools each week in the classroom and won Second Harvest’s Ted Heyward Award for Compassion in Action. The award was given for helping families and making sure children don’t go hungry.
Thomas and Kelly have kept a long standing relationship with the Salvation Army’s Center for Hope. Each year their foundation transports and feeds the entire shelter to a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner where Carolina Panther players serve the women and children a home style meal. Kelly also visits the center to serve lunch, encourages the single mothers with words of inspiration and provides financial support to various events.
Herb Gray
Businessman Herbert A. Gray sees possibilities and seizes opportunities. In the twenty years since receiving a political science degree, Gray has founded several successful businesses in Charlotte, North Carolina.
After graduating from North Carolina A&T in 1990, Gray accepted a property management role with H. J. Russell & Company in Atlanta. With $200 million-plus annual sales, Russell & Company is the single largest MBE real estate firm in the nation. A five-year stint with the family-owned company expanded Gray’s vision of the possibilities for business ownership.
In 1995, Gray left Russell & Company for a position with GMAC, first moving to Durham — where he grew up — and within months, transferring to Charlotte. An offer to move to GMAC Chattanooga was the catalyst for Gray’s first business venture. He chose to remain in Charlotte and founded a commercial cleaning company, Queen City Custodial Service, and also began investing in residential real estate.
Among Gray’s renters were people with emotional and developmental disabilities. After dissolving the custodial service, Gray began setting up residential homes for these individuals. However, state legislation changed which precluded his establishing group homes. Gray then learned about a new state-funded program to provide mental health services for children with behavioral and developmental challenges.
As a result, Gray founded Life Enhancement Services (LES) in 2005 and set up the firm’s headquarters in Charlotte in 2007. This new business would allow him to enhance the lives of individuals as well as communities, by offering meaningful employment. LES now has more than 200 employees and operates in five states: North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia and Texas.
Gray seeks to create change in and outside of the business world. He has forged a strong political network by volunteering in local and national campaigns and, during the last gubernatorial race, co-hosted a fundraiser for North Carolina Governor Beverly Purdue.
His philanthropy is far-reaching. His strategy is to marshal resources to meet pressing needs in the community that are often overlooked. Three years ago, he and his wife Felicia founded the Gray Golf Classic. They have given the tournament’s proceeds to local organizations including the Urban League of Central Carolinas, Florence Crittenton Services, Center of Hope—Women & Children’s Shelter and 100 Black Men of Charlotte. They joined the Gantt Center Founders Society, believing that they could best lead by example. Gray’s objective is to compel others to fund the community’s initiatives.
However, It is not always dollars that he gives: In winter 2009, Gray hosted a fundraiser and collected 80 blankets to give to Urban Ministry Center; each summer his firm hires college interns, as well as local high school students; and he also employs some of the same people that his organization, LES, was founded to serve because jobs for emotionally challenged individuals can often mean keeping them out of jail or psychiatric centers.
In addition to his personal commitment to the Charlotte community, Gray also serves on the board of the Police Activities League (former Police Athletic League).
Valaida Fullwood
Valaida Fullwood: the award-winning author of Giving Back, a 400-page hardcover book profiling stories of philanthropy among African Americans that was developed with photographer Charles Thomas. Giving Back, her first book, was named one of the 10 Best Black Books of 2011 and received the prestigious 2012 McAdam Book Award, which recognizes “the most inspirational and useful new book for the nonprofit sector.” In 2020, Valaida earned ABFE’s Trailblazer Award as a part of its 29th James A. Joseph Awards.
In collaboration with Johnson C. Smith University, an HBCU in Charlotte, NC, she attracted grant funding in 2014 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and other contributors totaling more than $240,000 to reimagine the book Giving Back as a multimedia, touring exhibit. Titled Giving Back: The Soul of Philanthropy Reframed and Exhibited, the exhibit is now traveling to college campuses, public libraries, cultural institutions and museums, nationwide. To date, two dozen organizations have presented the exhibition in such geographically and demographical disparate cities as Atlanta, GA, Denver, CO, Cleveland, OH and Portland, OR.
Tiffany Capers (Moderator)
Tiffany brings 25 years of nonprofit & public sector experience to her role as Executive Director after spending the last 11 years as a Teach for America Managing Director in Network Strategy & Public Affairs as well as in Development. She also served as a Vice President at Foundation For The Carolinas preceded by 14 years with the City of Charlotte.
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