Abbreviated Bio --
Dennis Maurice Dumpson
Dennis Maurice Dumpson is Founder and Principal Consultant of #InvestBLK, a boutique racial equity & strategic planning consulting firm specializing in strategy development, training, and coaching for nonprofits and leaders. He is also the Chief External Affairs Officer of Let's Get Ready (LGR), a national nonprofit focusing on college access, success, and peer coaching. Prior to #InvestBLK and LGR, Dennis served as a Diversity Teaching Fellow & Lecturer with Community College of Philadelphia.
Previously, he served as Founding Director of Community Engagement & Outreach at the Philadelphia International Airport; Managing Director of Development & External Impact at KIPP Philadelphia Schools; and Vice President of Development at Opportunity Finance Network. He has also served in a variety of cross-functional executive and consulting roles for organizations including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, La Salle University, Lincoln University, Montgomery Child Advocacy Project, CORA Services, and KIPP Philadelphia Schools.
As a thought leader, Dennis has been consulted and published widely on the topics of racial equity, justice, and anti-Blackness, including articles in the Washington Post, Social Worker, CBS Money as well as his books: What My Colored Eyes See (2009) and Black Washed: A Collection of Essays, Poems, Dreams, and Letters Addressed to Black Folk (2021). He will soon release his forthcoming book Other Side of Soil: A Manifest on Black Life before Hashtags (Very Black Books, 2022). Previously, he served on the Board of Directors for the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, YMCA — Columbia North, and Arch Street Preschool.
Dennis holds a BA in Philosophy (concentration in English Literature) from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. He also holds an MBA in Global Finance with executive fellowship & residency in Santiago, Chile and São Paulo, Brazil from Saint Joseph’s University and is a doctoral student of the PhD in Education for Social Justice program at the University of San Diego.
Dennis’ professional success also includes:
Previously, he served as Founding Director of Community Engagement & Outreach at the Philadelphia International Airport; Managing Director of Development & External Impact at KIPP Philadelphia Schools; and Vice President of Development at Opportunity Finance Network. He has also served in a variety of cross-functional executive and consulting roles for organizations including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, La Salle University, Lincoln University, Montgomery Child Advocacy Project, CORA Services, and KIPP Philadelphia Schools.
As a thought leader, Dennis has been consulted and published widely on the topics of racial equity, justice, and anti-Blackness, including articles in the Washington Post, Social Worker, CBS Money as well as his books: What My Colored Eyes See (2009) and Black Washed: A Collection of Essays, Poems, Dreams, and Letters Addressed to Black Folk (2021). He will soon release his forthcoming book Other Side of Soil: A Manifest on Black Life before Hashtags (Very Black Books, 2022). Previously, he served on the Board of Directors for the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, YMCA — Columbia North, and Arch Street Preschool.
Dennis holds a BA in Philosophy (concentration in English Literature) from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. He also holds an MBA in Global Finance with executive fellowship & residency in Santiago, Chile and São Paulo, Brazil from Saint Joseph’s University and is a doctoral student of the PhD in Education for Social Justice program at the University of San Diego.
Dennis’ professional success also includes:
- Developed a racial equity employment strategy increasing temporary employee diversity by 25-percent.
- Developed a hiring strategy for citizens with expunged records to access living wage employment.
- Led a team to secure $22MM* investment supporting small businesses with safe loan capital in 13 states.
- Secured more than $15MM* in major gifts, sponsorship, individual gifts, corporate giving, and grants.
- Led transformative strategic planning and DEI initiatives for several organizations as a consultant & employee.
- Developed the funded concept ($500M*) with consultants for a national diversity fellowship for CDFI leaders.
Professionally, Dennis has been an external affairs and fundraising leader in the public sector and is credited with securing $38MM in funding throughout his 15 year career. Nearly his entire portfolio has been intentionally directed toward BIPOC and economically disinvested communities. Moreover, Dennis is a skilled communicator having managed nonprofit communications programs with reach nationally and in Central America and previously served as an adjunct public speaking instructor, a fellow, and a lecturer at Community College of Philadelphia at various points between 2007-2020.
Dennis has dedicated his life to promoting racial justice, equity, and inclusion through a variety of mediums. He is the author of What My Colored Eyes See, a book of poetry and short stories that centers coming of age in a Black body. In 2021, Dennis published Black Washed, A Collection of Essays, Poems, Dreams, and Letters Addressed to Black Folk through Very Black Books. Black Washed includes elegant forewords confidently curated as an anthology by Black women. In 2011, Dennis produced and directed (with Gala P. Godwin Productions) a documentary, Journey to RAHA, that focused on a Black woman’s journey of evolution after losing her job and love for dance. Building community models has always been important to Dennis and in 2018 he co-created—with movement maker & social worker, Erica Campbell—a community gathering, Melanated Movie Night, where communities come together to support Black owned restaurants and watch & critique Black film. In all he does Dennis is centering Black identity, BIPOC communities, and antiracist community building models.
Currently, Dennis is leads a consultancy and philanthropy, #InvestBLK. #InvestBLK’s services are broad but all lead to vitiating anti-Blackness in nonprofits and government. In addition, the company invests 75% of its profits into lives of Black folk. After more than 15 years working and leading in philanthropy, Dennis seeks to create a new model for antiracist investments and giving programs that betrays capitalism. You can also see Dennis’ intellect consulted and featured in The Washington Post, Socialist Worker, CBS Moneywatch, Medium and others. He has also been featured in the Philadelphia Tribune as one of the 10 Most Influential African American Philadelphians under 40.
Dennis is an alumnus of the nation’s first Historically Black College or University (HBCU), Lincoln University. In addition, he earned graduate certificates in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from Bryn Mawr College and Critical Race Theory from the African American Policy Forum at Columbia University. He also earned his MBA in Global Finance & Organizational Leadership from Saint Joseph’s University with corporate residency in South America. Dennis was born, raised, and currently resides in Philadelphia, PA and enjoys cooking and producing his videocasts, No More Chains and FRANK (coming soon) about Black life, race, politics, queerness, and culture.