We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Basil Ribakare a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Basil, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
A defining moment in my professional career was when I worked with the nonprofit Assistance League of Phoenix in the summer of 2022. This nonprofit had originally served me when I was a sixth grader through their Operation School Bus event where they provide free school clothing to children from lower income backgrounds. When I interned them for the summer, I really got to see the work behind everything they do from marketing to event planning to even being able to observe a board meeting. That experience completely changed my outlook on nonprofits because in my mind I always thought that to serve in a nonprofit you should already be well off. But I was completely wrong, all the people who worked within the nonprofit from marketing to board were all people who truly had the desire to serve their community first above all things. From this experience, I ended up becoming the chairman of a nonprofit started by buddies of mine that I attended high school with. I desire to keep the practice of serving my community well into my career through many different areas such as education, homelessness, criminal reform, and public health. It’s crazy to think that before that experience I wanted to be a lawyer for a big firm that makes a lot of money.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Basil Ribakare and I’m a first-generation African-American college student currently attending Arizona State University and in my senior year. I’m pursuing my MPA next year at ASU’s Watt’s College in hopes of continuing my work in nonprofit and public service. I am the current head chairman of S.E.E.D Philanthropy which is the world’s first all-black youth giving group established in 2020. We raise money to ultimately give out during our grant cycle in early spring to nonprofits focused on supporting and uplifting the underserved black community in Arizona. We also engage in back-to-school drives we host every year for an underserved elementary/middle school and volunteer with as many nonprofits as we can throughout the year. What sets us apart from others is our focus on getting young individuals, particularly 16-22 African American males, to get involved in philanthropy as early as possible. I’m most proud of the continuing efforts to do as much as we can for our communities despite being very busy in our own individual lives as we have several members in college and internships etc. Yet despite all of our individual responsibilities, we are all still very dialed in with the mission of S.E.E.D and strive to see it come to fruition.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
What is most helpful for succeeding in our field is networking not networking in the sense of “Connect with me on LinkedIn” but networking on a deeper level than that. Building true relationships and rapport is fundamental for succeeding in the nonprofit industry because connecting with those who have the same mission and desire as you will ultimately bring forth a partnership and action greater than one from connecting with someone who partially shares the same goals. All of the individuals I and my fellow members have connected with have shared the same goals and desires we do for our community that we both give ourselves wholly to each other to support each other’s mission.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
For me personally, I read the book Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton and it changed my entire philosophy when it came to being a true impactful man for your community. Huey’s fame strongly comes from his role in the Black Panther Party and the images of him holding a gun but that’s not the full story. Huey established so many impactful programs within his community in Oakland that his OWN people began to see a brighter future for themselves than before. The culture of serving one another became more apparent in their community and most importantly the love of serving others grew. His story opened my eyes to the fact that I don’t need to be the CEO of the Make-A-Wish foundation to be an impactful person in my community and other underserved communities, I can do so simply by being in a group like S.E.E.D
Contact Info:
- Website: https://azreap.org/students-engaged-in-ethical-donations-seed/
- Instagram: seedphilanthropy
- Other: LinkedIn; BasilRibakare