YOUR BLACK MATTERS

Your Black Matters (YBM) empowers academically gifted but financially challenged Black youth from Africa and the diaspora to achieve both higher education and economic independence. Through scholarships, mentorship, and our Parallel Path model, YBM helps students graduate with a degree and real-world business or professional experience.

Founded in 2021, Your Black Matters (YBM) is a global nonprofit initiative dedicated to unlocking the potential of high-achieving yet financially disadvantaged Black students. Our mission is to create pathways for long-term empowerment through education, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

YBM’s flagship Parallel Path Program provides full university scholarships in Africa, currently anchored in Nigeria, while simultaneously equipping scholars to pursue a second, practical track: either launching their own business or earning a professional certification. By their third year, students are already operating a business or gaining real-world experience, and by graduation, they hold both a degree and two years of professional or entrepreneurial experience.

Since inception, YBM has sponsored 20 scholars entirely through founder funding, proving the model’s success and sustainability. With a strong foundation in place, YBM is now expanding to 100 students through partnerships, grants, and volunteer collaboration. Every dollar raised opens doors for a brilliant mind whose potential might otherwise go unrealized, and builds a generation of Black leaders ready to transform their communities and the world.