Nonprofit, Business and Philanthropy Leaders Gather for Bay Area Blacks in Philanthropy's Conference on African Americans Competing in the Regional Economy

On October 12, nonprofit, business and philanthropy leaders will join the Bay Area Blacks in Philanthropy to celebrate local black philanthropists and confer on solutions that can fuel employment, entrepreneurship and innovation for African Americans in the region.

"We are eager to honor the generous contributions of individuals and organizations who strengthen this region by investing their time and resources in important causes," said Cedric Brown, Chair of Bay Area Blacks in Philanthropy (BABIP). "We benefit from living in one of the world's hotspots for innovation, and we aim to bring some of that energy to bear to collectively tackle issues facing Black communities."

The public is invited to attend the "Celebrating Black Philanthropy" Gala Reception, on Wednesday, October 12, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Stanford University's Black Community Services Center.

This year's Community Impact Award recipients are:

-- Gloria Rhodes Brown, retired former Director of the University of California Cooperative Extension Service for San Mateo and San Francisco counties;

-- Michael C. Bush, Founder of The MattMar Group Inc.;

-- James Lowell Gibbs, Stanford University's Martin Luther King Jr. Centennial Professor of Anthropology Emeritus, and Dr. Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, author and retired Zellerbach Family Fund Professor of Social Policy, Community Change and Practice at UC Berkeley;

-- Valerie Coleman Morris, leading financial literacy journalist and author;

-- Keena Turner, Vice President of Football Affairs for the San Francisco 49ers;

-- and Verizon Wireless.

In addition, BABIP's "State of the Race" conference on African Americans competing in the regional economy will take place 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation Conference Center in San Mateo. Conference speakers include: Angela Benton, CEO of Black Web Media and Co-Founder of NewMe Accelerator; Cheryl Contee, Partner at Fission Strategy and Founder of "Jack and Jill" blog; Allen Fernandez-Smith, President and CEO of Urban Habitat; Ted Howard, Executive Director of the Democracy Collaborative; Dr. Steven Pitts, Labor Policy Specialist at UC Berkeley Labor Center; and Junious Williams Jr., CEO of Urban Strategies Council.

Registration fees are $50 for the conference and $50 for the reception. Both the conference and reception are $75 for BABIP members, $90 for non-BABIP members. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit babip2011.eventbrite.com.