On Black Philanthropy Featuring Alisha Johnson Perry
In this episode, Alisha Johnson Perry, Director of Donor Programs for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community Foundation, discusses the importance of Black Philanthropy toward building wealth and sustainability in our communities. In the spirit of giving, I also state my opinion about student loan debt forgiveness. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/erik-fleming1/support
Alisha Johnson Perry's fundraising career is grounded in social justice. Following three years as Development Director for the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (2007-2010), Alisha became development manager of Edible Schoolyard New Orleans, FirstLine Schools' signature garden-based food and nutrition access and education program, established post-Katrina to address food insecurity. Employing sensibilities for relationship and consensus building, Alisha's leadership contributed to the growth of the organization's lead fundraiser, An Edible Evening, resulting in a 250% increase in annual gross receipts. Since 2011 Alisha has collaborated with an integral team of fundraising and communications staff, civic leaders and philanthropists to leverage hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours and local, regional and national dollars toward strategic school-based initiatives that nurture FirstLine students in mind, body and spirit.
A native New Orleanian who was introduced to not-for-profit service in high school, Alisha feels at home in nonprofit fundraising. Her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Spanish, 10 years as a Louisiana Senate legislative assistant, and Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School ground her persuasive amplification of marginalized communities. Alisha is a member of Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), ABFE, and Education Leader Of Color (EdLOC). See became a CFRE on November 16, 2021. Her favorite hobbies are writing, reading, and playing Scrabble.