MSDL Alumni Difference Makers Campaign
Your tax-deductible contribution will make a lasting impact and support future Promise-Driven Leaders.
Dear MSDL Family,
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We are so grateful for you. You are the embodiment of promise-driven leadership, and your voice, your witness, your work matter now more than ever.
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At a time when our communities are being challenged - by policies that ignore our needs, by systems that too often silence us, and by forces that seek to divide rather than reconcile - we need courageous, principled, and prepared leaders to rise. That’s why we are launching a vital campaign for the future of MSDL: to expand and sustain this sacred work of forming leaders of color who lead with character, justice, and vision.
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Your tax-deductible gift will directly support the next generation of MSDL fellows, build our capacity to meet this moment, and ensure that no promising leader is turned away due to funding constraints. This is our time to plant and to water - to build a future worthy of our callings.
Let’s move forward, together!
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Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner
Our Goal
Can you give $100 per month to help us reach our MSDL annual budget goal of $270,000?
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While a $100/monthly donation is a target minimum contribution, support in any amount, one-time or monthly, is sincerely appreciated. Your support helps sustain scholarships for those otherwise unable to enroll and graduate from MSDL. Your donation also ensures a full year of MSDL operation that will echo far beyond the classroom.
Every donation matters, and every dollar brings us closer to sustaining a strong MSDL, producing high-character promise-driven difference makers, now and in the future.
$270,000
Amount to raise
218
Number of MSDL Alumni
Nov. 2025 - Nov. 2026
Campaign period
Impact Stories
Ms. Da’Net J. H. Sturdifen
Before the program, I often stated I was called to help people. However, I never considered the difference I was meant to make? MSDL instilled an understanding of my promise with each class. My promise is now my driving force, and I am moving forward to fulling it every day.
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Mr. Lawrence M. Coclough
I have always understood and practiced being a contributing member at my workplace and within my family. MSDL has empowered me to contribute more to these areas, but more importantly, to act on my commitment to give back to the community as a whole. It has truly been a life-changing experience for me.
Ms. Chanelle P. Hardy
When I was 11 my mom took me out of the public school that was breaking my spirit and saved my life by homeschooling me through high school graduation. MSDL saved my life for the second time. I was drowning and wise elders and powerful, yet vulnerable peers spoke truth and healing into my life. I started broken, but am now renewed and hopeful.
Three ways to give
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Individual Giving
MSDL appreciates individual and group donations in any amount. One-time or recurring gifts have sustained the MSDL program over the past 18 years.
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You can make your one-time or recurring tax-deductible donation through Givelify with instructions below.
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One-time or recurring tax-deductible donations by check can be made through your bank's online bill pay service to send a physical check by mail for MSDL, as follows:
Skinner Leadership Institute
P.O. Box 69311
Baltimore, Maryland 21264-9311
Memo: MSDL Campaign
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For additional information, please contact Barbarella Brown, MSDL Director, at bbrown@skinnerleadership.org.
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Matching Gifts
Many companies match employee donations. Matching Gifts matter as they amplify your impact. It can effectively double or even triple the value of your personal donation.
How to Find Out About Your Employer's Program:
1. Contact HR: The easiest way to find out if your company has a matching program is to ask your HR department.
2. Company Website: Many companies provide details about their matching gift programs on their internal or external websites, as well as the corporate giving and grant management platforms they use, such as Benevity or Bonterra Cybergrants.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact Marcia Melancon, MSDL V, at marcia.melancon@gmail.com.
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Sponsorships
MSDL Sponsors assist talented leaders who are ideal candidates but lack the corporate sponsorship to participate in the program, as well as individuals identified within their organization, to benefit from the program.
For more information on becoming a Sponsor, download the Skinner Leadership Institute Sponsorship Guide below or contact Marcia Melancon, MSDL V, at marcia.melancon@gmail.com.
Donor Benefits
ENGAGEMENT
Virtual Briefings with Faculty, Steering Committee Opportunities
COMMUNICATION
Access to Campaign Milestones
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COMMUNITY
Access to In-Person and Virtual MSDL Refreshers, Chats
CONNECTION/CELEBRATION
Invitation to Annual Receptions and National Events
Let's be realistic regarding money. If we don't have it, we are not going to be able to do all the things we want to do. These priorities include supporting more scholarships and coming together as a group so that we build a community that shares our same values about the importance of living for others.
- THE HONORABLE CONSTANCE NEWMAN
Tax-Deductible
MSDL is a program of Skinner Leadership Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization. Your donation is tax-deductible.
MSDL is a one-of-a-kind culturally sensitive, global leadership excellence experience, producing high character, difference makers, social innovators, quality decision makers and community builders. MSDL has graduated more than 200 gifted and talented executives since 2008.