Boys to Men

Name: Shawn Dove

Job: Campaign Manager for the Open Society Foundations’ Campaign for Black Male Achievement

Age: 49

Education: Dove earned a Bachelor of Art in English from Wesleyan University in 1984 and is a 1989 graduate of Columbia University Business School’s Institute for Not-for-Profit Management. In 1994, he was a Charles H. Revson Fellow at Columbia University.

At Wesleyan, Dove developed a passion for writing, serving in editorial roles at two publications on campus. Dove was certain his degree would lead him to a career in sports reporting, but that changed once challenged with trying to support himself in New York City. He landed a job in textile sales, but Dove longed for something more meaningful.
He wanted to make a difference in the African American community.

How he got the job:
In January 2008, Dove received a flurry of e-mails from former colleagues and friends about the Campaign for Black Male Achievement position. His network tried to convince Dove it was the ideal job for him, but he was unsure. “I didn’t know if I wanted to pursue [that] path, so I didn’t respond to the opportunity,” recalls Dove, who was director of youth ministries at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey, and the founder and publisher of Proud Poppa, a magazine for African American fathers. “I thought it would detract from Proud Poppa, then I had a reality-check conversation with my wife, which helped me realize I should seriously explore the opportunity.”

Dove, a father of four, applied for the coveted job that had attracted a huge pool of candidates. It was a three-month vetting process that included five interviews. The project was launched in 2008 by George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, and is the largest philanthropic initiative to address the economic, political, social, and educational exclusion of black men and boys from mainstream America.

Relevant experience:
By the time Dove landed the job, it was as if he had been grooming for the position his entire life. With leadership positions in the fields of education, community building, and youth development, Dove had all the right credentials. “Everything I have done in my career has helped in this golden opportunity,” he says. “I’ve worked in the [youth development, educational, and community development] fields for decades and I’ve been on both sides of the table.” Dove’s previous positions include vice president for MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership; executive director of The DOME Project, a youth development organization; and Creative Communities director for the National Guild of Community

Schools of the Arts. Dove was also program director at the Harlem Children’s Zone for a decade, where he was the founding editor-in-chief of Harlem Overheard–an award-winning newspaper produced by youth–and helped launch one of New York City’s first Beacon schools.

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Job responsibilities:
As campaign manager, Dove and his philanthropic team of six dole out grants ranging from $50,000 to $1 million to organizations whose initiatives include programs centered on educational equity, strengthening family structure, increasing employment opportunities, and improving the image of the black male. To date, the campaign has invested more than $30 million in organizations improving life outcomes for black men and boys.

“I don’t just sit around and give away money,” explains Dove. “There is a lot of responsibility that goes into philanthropy. The hardest part of my job is saying no, especially to solid, well-deserving organizations and projects that are not a fit.”

Personal responsibility:
Dove says his personal responsibility is to make sure he works with organizations that will make a difference. Historically, he explains, philanthropic groups have invested “millions and millions of dollars into projects, but change can be slow.” In his four years of directing this campaign, Dove has seen marked improvements among his grantees, such as Eagle Academy

Foundation, which is a network of schools that turn at-risk, inner-city boys into academic achievers. “It’s great working with bright, dynamic, and passionate leaders in communities who have a real vision for improving life for black boys and men. I realize change doesn’t happen overnight because racial discrimination is a big part of leveling the playing field, but the campaign is keeping this issue front and center.” But there are challenges as well, particularly with programs and organizations that have not lived up to their goals. “Clearly, there have been groups that have not done the work they said they would do.”

Biggest frustration:
Dove sometimes feels exasperated when he is constantly asked why the campaign only focuses on black men and boys, but he is quick to explain that the campaign’s work is a response to America’s unfinished business with one of the country’s most marginalized people. “There’s a need to keep black men and boys out of the prison system and ensure they are working, educated, and are present in the life of their family,” he explains.

“Millions of black men wake up every day and try to be a better man, better husband, and a better father, but many don’t have the opportunity to make it happen. When

America looks at the outcome of black men and boys in terms of education, family structure, employment, and image, how could anyone wonder why this campaign exists? Rebuilding the black male is not a black problem, it’s an American problem. George Soros and the Open Society Foundations have placed a big, bold bet on improving life for black males and boys.”

Success prospects:
Dove first started his job with a three-year commitment, but 18 months later, Soros and the U.S. programs board of directors of the Open Society Foundations were impressed with the initial results, and removed the term limit and tripled the annual budget for the campaign to $15 million. The Campaign for Black Male Achievement recently partnered with Echoing Green, a nonprofit organization that invests in social entrepreneurs and their ideas, to create the Black Male Achievement Fellowship. The first class of the BMA Fellowship includes eight organizations that will receive a $70,000 stipend, healthcare insurance stipend, professional development, technical support, and consultations with social entrepreneurs. “The Campaign for Black Male Achievement is not just investing in programs and organizations, we are investing in leadership and people,” explains Dove, who has  two sons. “I will be doing this work for the rest of my life.”