Skip to main content

BLACK WOMEN GIVE BACK 

Celebrating Black women who lead, give and transform their communities.

Black Women Give Back honors Black women philanthropists who use their time, talent and resources to create meaningful change.

Since 2021, we have celebrated extraordinary Black women whose generosity strengthens communities and advances equity.

Explore our past honorees and the impact they continue to make.

created by a trailblazer

Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland 

The Black Women Give Back Awards were created by philanthropist and trailblazer Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland to honor and uplift Black women whose leadership, generosity, and vision are reshaping philanthropy and social change.

about the black women give back awards

Black women have always woven abundance in our communities—often invisibly, always powerfully. Black Women Give Back Awards honor
extraordinary Black women across the globe who give through their time, talent, treasure, testimony, and ties—formally and informally. We seek “quiet champions” and everyday philanthropists whose impact may not yet have a big platform but is transforming lives and communities.

This annual award celebrates 10 everyday philanthropists nationally and globally who use their time, talent, treasure, testimony, and ties—the 5 Ts—to make the world more just, more generous, and more joyful. We honor women who:

Build ecosystems of mutual thriving rather than individual survival
Center joy, healing, and pleasure alongside justice work
Transform pain into power and scarcity into shared prosperity
Weave intergenerational wisdom into contemporary innovation

ANNOUNCING THE 2026 BLACK WOMEN
GIVE BACK HONOREES

Destiny Burse ~ Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consultorium

Ekene Okonkwo ~ WONDER Foundation

Saida Agostini Bostic ~ Funders for LGBTQ Issues

Dr. Indira Henard ~ DC Rape Crisis Center

Dr. Clarice Redding Louis, Ed. D. ~ Color of Change

Alana C. Brown ~ She Makes Impact Law and Consulting

Dr. Shelley Amuh, M. D. ~ The Puddle Project

Mila Henry MH Boxes

Shemeka Frazier Sorrells ~ A Better Glynn

Stephanie Matthews ~ A Tribe for Jazz

    past black women give BACK honorees 

               2025 Honorees

    • Isabelle Kamariza 
    • Kaci Patterson 
    • Khayriyyah MuhammadSmith 
    • Aimê Araújo
    • Yvonne L. Moore  
    • Amina Doherty
    • Dr. Jacqueline C Hairston, M.D. 
    • Dana François 
    • Dr. Gillian Marcelle 
    • Christy Slater 

          2024 Honorees

    • Arian Simone 
    • Thaís Nascimento 
    • Aminah Elster  
    • Tracey Greene Washington 
    • Katrina Mitchell 
    • Yolanda F. Johnson 
    • Dr. Artika Tyner 
    • Dr. Froswa Booker-Drew
    • Deaconess Adedoyin Beyioku-Alase 
    • Constance Hill-Johnson 

               2023 Honorees

    • Nyamekye Wilson 
    • Dahabo Ahmed-Omer 
    • Tsehai Wodajo
    • Gisele Garraway
    • Magdaline Habiba Musa 
    • Mandy Olowu 
    • Aline Odara 
    • Elizabeth Thompson
    • Akira Barclay 
    • Ciara Coleman 

               2022 Honorees

    • Nicole Cardoza 
    • Ebonie Johnson Cooper 
    • Carol Goss
    • Ada Williams Prince
    • Maria S. Johnson 
    • Mary Olushoga
    • Cathryn McClellan Kelly
    • Soffiyah Elijah
    • Joy B. Webb
    • Tyeshia Wilson 

                 2021 Honorees

    • Dr. M. Starita Boyce Ansari 
    • Felicia Davis 
    • Valaida Fullwood 
    • Betty Smith 
    • Akilah S. Wallace 
    • Thelma Ekiyor 
    • Toya Nash Randall 
    • Marsha Morgan 
    • Ayo Tometi 
    • Sharlene Kemler