How our journey began
As a 501c3 non-profit, GiveSankofa, Inc utilizes a collective impact approach that concentrates on enhancing personal and communal growth through initiatives and services that amplify healing, joy, love, innovation, and freedom. We establish a nurturing environment for Black and Brown communities to attain freedom and realize their complete potential. Our current investments include: the BEE FREE Community Healing Grant, BEE FREE Youth Leadership program, and Sankofa BEE FREE Man/Woman Coaching™ Program.
Our goal is to cultivate a worldwide movement among Black and Brown individuals, enabling them to return to their communities and contribute, thus enabling greater access to joy, love, peace, and freedom. We’re guided by our core values of love, healing, justice, collectivism, and wealth equity.
Meet Our Founder
Our Founder, Dr. Annice E. Fisher does not tie herself to a particular sector. Going from Chicago’s Southside to earning her doctorate degree from Harvard, she had to tackle imposter syndrome head on, learn how to strategically navigate office politics as a woman of color, confidently speak her truth, and unapologetically own her identity. Annice’s experiences led her to develop a toolkit for exercising nuanced leadership that helped her and other people of color that she has coached succeed at breaking barriers and legacy building. Her story is what led to the founding of the GiveSankofa idea in 2017, establishment as a non-profit in 2021, and “soft launch” of investments in 2022. Our founder, Dr. Fisher used revenue from her work salary to fund our initial investments.
In 2017, Annice founded Developing Capacity Coaching the sister for-profit to GiveSankofa, Inc. Collectively, the organizations focus on co-creating a world where everyone has the full and equal opportunity to benefit from the resources within their organization, community, city, and world.
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On November 7, 2017, Dr. Fisher attended the Activism Now series at the California African American Museum where she heard Angela Rye speak. She issued a call to the audience to Bank Black, Buy Black, and Give Black and challenged us to determine our role in the movement. And in the moment, Annice got the inspiration for #GiveSankofa. She decided we desperately needed a campaign to practice Sankofa in our local communities. It was time to Go Back, Give Back, and Give Black!
We created this organization with the belief that people want to contribute their time, skills, and finances to support individuals and organizations working to improve the livelihood of Black people in the African Diaspora, Latinos, Asians, Arabs, and Indigenous people globally.
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Most recently, Annice is known for her Conscious Leadership for Equity™ work which is currently being integrated across a variety of sectors including judicial justice reform, government, k-12 and higher education, philanthropy, corporate, non-profits, and Hollywood. Dr. Fisher also serves as the inaugural Antiracism Pedagogy Scholar at American University, School of Education. Annice often serves as a writer and speaker on topics related to race, gender, leadership, social justice, entrepreneurship, and mindset.
In her efforts to democratize coaching, Annice launched The BEE FREE Institute, an online coaches certification hub for The BFW Coaches Academy & Conscious People for Equity™ Course. Annice has a B.A. in Rhetoric & Speech Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, M. Ed in Higher Education Administration from Iowa State University, and Ed. L.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She holds certifications and trainings in Immunity-to-Change Coaching, HAVEN Interpersonal Violence, Safe Zone Ally, and the Social Justice Training Institute.
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Her work has garnered several awards.
She was most recently recognized as a Black Woman of Excellence for the Black Professionals Network, Chicago Chapter.
Outstanding Young Alumni Under 40 from the Iowa State University Alumni Association.
Featured in The Highland Project’s Abundance Magazine and Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
Annice is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
She recently published her first book, "The Power Within Me: The road back home to the real you.”
Meet the Team
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Program Support
Karis serves as our Project/Program Support lead. Her passion for cultural empowerment and exchange was curated while being involved with the multicultural center and study abroad at Michigan State University.
Her experience in project management begun working in the food manufacturing industry utilizing her engineering and process improvement skills.
She is the founder of Karisma Wellness - specializing in self-image coaching and skin care.
Karis obtained a B.S. In Biosystems Engineering from Michigan State University. She also has her Project Management Professional certification and Scrum Master certificate.
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Assessment & Evaluation Advisor
Ciji leads assessment, evaluation, and strategic planning efforts with a culturally responsive and equity-centered lens. Her work involves partnering with stakeholders to cultivate and report credible and actionable evidence.
She received her B.A. in International Relations from Bucknell University, M.Ed. from Kent State University, M.S. and Ph.D. in Educational Research Methodology from the UNC-Greensboro. She teaches antiracist research methods at American University and is a national leader and speak on leveraging data to advance equity in higher education.
Meet the Board
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Treasurer
Anthony is the current Sr. Volunteer Programs Manager and Organizational Culture for Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). He facilitates various efforts to encourage corporate and community volunteers to empower students’ entrepreneurial mindsets. He also leads initiatives to strengthen the organization’s culture, diversity, and inclusion mission.
Anthony is a former high school English teacher. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.A. in English and Secondary Education.
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Secretary
Clarybel has over 20 years in higher ed administration and has provided consulting services for a variety of institutions, corporations and associations. She is an expert in strategy, leadership development, organizational culture, implementation of diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Clarybel earned a B.A. in Sociology from Syracuse University, M.A. in Higher Ed Admin from University of South Carolina and a Ed.D in Org Leadership and Communications from Northeastern University. She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and The Links.
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Member
Rose is a leader in the nonprofit education sector with over eight years of higher education, talent development, program quality and delivery, career coaching, and leadership development. Rose is also the author of A Generational Cry: Based on A True Story of the Haitian Revolution and founder and principal of A Rising Up Coaching. Rose loves people and processes. She is a lifelong learner who earned certifications in performance coaching, Becoming a leader: by making sound decisions, Allyship and more.
Investments We’ve Made
Village Life Prep
The Called Entrepreneur
The Sanctuary
African American Civic Leaders Scholarship
Congratulations to our Pilot Cohort of 2023,
BEE FREE Community Healing Grant!
Our Launch Programs
01 — BEE FREE Community Healing Grant
Our grants allow us to spread our core values of healing and wealth equity to our most underserved and underinvested communities and organizations. In cities like Chicago, we provide direct and unrestrictive microgrants to Black and Brown entrepreneurs leading efforts in our most under-resourced communities.
02 — BEE FREE Youth Leadership Program
This initiative embodies our justice and collectivism core values. We believe young people possess the wisdom to birth creative solutions that transform their present realities. We empower girls whose parent(s) have experienced incarceration to become conscious leaders for equity within their local communities.
03 — BEE FREE Woman/Man Coaching
We’re taking back our right to heal and live life at our full potential. Capturing our healing and love core values, BFM and BFW Coaching program equips women and men with healing strategies to overturn fixed mindsets, trust their spirit, exercise leadership, successfully navigate race and gender issues, and build their legacies.
What People Are Saying
