Valaida Fullwood
CATHERINE FERGUSON PHILANTHROPY AWARD
Described an “idea whisperer,” Valaida Fullwood brings unbridled imagination and a gift for harnessing wild ideas to her
work as a writer, public speaker and consultant on various
projects and events. Valaida is the award-winning author of
Giving Back, a 400-page hardcover book profiling stories of
philanthropy among African Americans that was developed with
photographer Charles Thomas. Giving Back was named one of
the 10 Best Black Books of 2011 and received the prestigious
2012 McAdam Book Award, which recognizes “the most
inspirational and useful new book for the nonprofit sector.”
Valaida is a recognized thought leader on African American
philanthropy and community-led philanthropy and is frequently
invited by a variety of groups to write, talk and consult on the
topic. She is featured in a 2013 TEDx Talk on philanthropy and
was named the 2014 Lake Distinguished Visitor at Indiana
University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. In 2015, Valaida
collaborated with HBCUs, museums and other cultural
institutions to launch the multimedia, touring exhibition Giving
Back: The Soul of Philanthropy Reframed and Exhibited. Today,
the exhibit has been touring for over a decade and been hosted
by 35 cities nationwide, and counting.
In 2020, the Charlotte Chapter of the Association of Funding
Professionals (AFP) named Valaida “Charlotte’s Outstanding
Champion of Diversity”. YWCA Central Carolinas honored her as
its 2020 Women of Achievement • Community Champion. The
same year, she earned the Trailblazer Award from ABFE, the
national network of Black executives and professionals in
philanthropy.
In 2022, Valaida received the Madam C.J. Walker Award for
Trailblazers of Color in the Nonprofit Community from F3: Fab
Female Fundraisers. That year she also was named among "The
Great 28" by QCityMetro, a list highlighting influential Blacks
shaping the city of Charlotte.
She recently shared her journey in philanthropy as a part of
“The Roots of the Work” panel at the Women’s Philanthropy
Institute Symposium 2026
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