Daily Inspiration: Meet Dionté Grey

Hi Dionté, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thanks! It’s an honor to be featured. My name is Dionté and I am a nonprofit leader and public speaker who specializes in urban education,  youth leadership, and diverse community development. Ten years ago, I started as a volunteer who was just looking to make an impact on the lives of the youth in my community. Fast forward ten years later, and I’m now the Co-Founder and Executive Director of UrbanPromise Los Angeles — and still looking to make an impact on the lives of the youth in my community.

My wife and I started UrbanPromise Los Angeles to support the children and youth of Los Angeles and provide them with the academic, social, and spiritual development needed to be the next generation of leaders with their own community. Intentionally located in a lower-income neighborhood, we are seeking to address the issues of educational inequality, youth unemployment and access to higher education for Black and Brown students.

To supplement almost 10 years of nonprofit experience in communities of color, I am currently pursuing my MA in Diverse Community Development Leadership from California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Education is a family value that was instilled in me by my grandmother and parents and I believe education should and could be used as a tool to better your own life as well as the lives of others in your community — which is one of the main reasons we started UrbanPromise Los Angeles.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The nonprofit sector naturally comes with its unique set of challenges. For us, fundraising in a city that we didn’t grow up in has been really challenging. We don’t have any long standing relationships, old neighbors, or friends that we can lean on for support and connections. Not only that, being a Black founder can be difficult in any field, and nonprofit is no different. We don’t often have access to wealthy and philanthropic networks and grant organizations may not always understand or value our work or our community.

But of course, one of the biggest challenges of them all has been the Covid-19 pandemic. A month after we first launched our programs, Covid hit and shut everything down for us before we could really get started. But, we persevered and found a way to support our community and still be there for our youth. By providing a physical space for kids to do their distance-learning, we earned trust with the parents of the community and our donor base stepped up in a major way! What could’ve been the end turned out to be the catalyst to our growth and the thing that has brought us to this point.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Great question! Professionally, I work full-time as the Executive Director of UrbanPromise Los Angeles. My wife and I wanted to start a nonprofit organization that would support kids in every area of their lives – so the holistic support we offer is what sets us apart from other organizations providing AfterSchool care.

Supporting youth is also very personal for me. As a child growing up in poverty and attending elementary school in Detroit, MI there were many times I didn’t have the consistent support at home that I needed to succeed in school. However, there were also many times where family members, neighbors, teachers, and coaches stepped in to help when I needed it most. After attending college in Tennessee on a basketball scholarship, I graduated and immediately began working to create opportunities for the next generation.

I believe my values and my ability to consistently act on them is what sets me apart from others. Following the footsteps of Jesus, I not only love my neighbors but I practice servant leadership by using my gifts and talents to serve the needs of others. My favorite definition of a leader’s role is to show others what is possible. I hope every aspect of my life reflects that it’s possible to care for your yourself well, love your family deeply, impact the lives of others tremendously, honor God faithfully, and change the world daily!

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
You know, I think sincerely valuing people has been the quality that has most contributed to my success. We as people each have unique stories, experiences, and gifts that should be valued and honored, but instead we often exploit or discard one another. I’ve never tried to manipulate people or get over on them in any way. My success has come from treating people with honor, care, and respect. I have been extremely fortunate to be able to connect with some incredible people here in Los Angeles. As I meet people, I’m looking to get to know them for who they are – not for what they can do for me. People can sense insincerity and a lack of genuine interest, so I work to be upfront with people if I am seeking to connect with them as donors as opposed to connecting on a friendly level.  Approaching relationships this way has led to surprise acts of generosity towards our nonprofit, unexpected opportunities and connections, and genuine friendships — which at times can all be hard to find in Los Angeles.

If I were to give any advice on how to be successful, it would be to embrace the fact that true wealth is found in relationships, not money and things.

Pricing:

• AfterSchool & Summer Camp Programs: FREE
• Become a Youth Sponsor: $100/mo