Meet Kenisha Dennis: Founder of Black Girls Can Incorporated | CEO, K. Dennis Cause Consulting

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kenisha Dennis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kenisha, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?

When I think about whether I should keep going or give up, I reflect on why I started. When I started Black Girls Can Inc., I set out to help close the resource and opportunity gap for inner-city black girls like me. I knew way too many students in my community and surrounding communities that were going overlooked and under-resourced. I knew I could make a difference and had such a big imagination for how I was going to tackle this. Early on, I would get many signs to start this journey but kept denying it at first. I would pray to God for confirmation and preparation to see this purpose through. And once I started, there were indeed days when I wanted to give up, where it felt incredibly overwhelming, and it was one problem after another. And on those days, I started to learn what I was made of. Was I going to sink or swim? Am I committed or not? Each and everytime the answer was to continue. Keep going.

Time and experience will often be your most significant indicator on whether you should continue because, for every tough day, God has blessed me twice over. I can recall driving from my D.C residence to New York to meet with my Black Girls Can girls to lead workshops, then head to a fundraising Gala on behalf of Black Girls Can while completing tasks as a manager for my 9 to 5 job, all in the same day. No one knew, but on this day, I questioned giving up. It felt like too much, I thought it would be easier to settle with my 9 to 5 job. But then, a few days later, donations started to pour in through the Black Girls Can website, and I received an email from a parent expressing how her child’s experience during a recent session made a difference in her daughter’s self-esteem. I took these “coincidences” as signs from God why I needed to continue.

Evaluate what you’re doing after you’ve put a bit of time and experience in and then ask yourself is this still serving you? Is your business making an impact? Do I have the necessary business model in place to continue? If not focusing on building that out. Because there will be tough days, and you have to ask yourself if you’re still committed. You will go through every emotion in route to your mission, and time and experience will always reward you accordingly.

What should our readers know about your business?
I founded Black Girls Can Inc. with the intention of eliminating the STEAM gap among Black Girls and to help foster the next generation of Black Talent. I wanted to ensure that it wasn’t harder for those coming after us. I built an organization with a mission to enrich the lives of black girls through free enrichment programs. Before starting my business, I sought out mentors. I studied many nonprofits doing work similar to mine and began to develop my unique value proposition considering all the other offerings that already existed. I started by attending events by other nonprofits to see how they ran their organization from the inside out. I held meetings and conversations with those in the nonprofit sector and met with those in the for-profit sector to gain best practices. The best thing I did before starting was spending time being a student, asking questions, and learning from others doing something similar to what I wanted to pursue. This research and discovery phase gave Black Girls Can Inc. the best footing to reach our desired audiences. People tend to skip the research and discovery phase because they are eager to start, but it will save a lot of time and money in the long run. It’s worth the time investment.

Over time you’ll learn to get comfortable when a challenge appears because this isn’t going away. My approach is to be flexible and be willing to pivot when a challenge comes my way. One core area of Black Girls Can Programming is the ability to run hands-on programming, and with COVID impacting our program approach, we had to pivot to an all-digital program roll-out. While this isn’t ideal, if I’m not flexible enough to change course, Black Girls Can Inc, could risk getting left behind and girls seeking other programs for support in this time. Be willing to pivot and be flexible with the approach when challenges arise.

Black Girls Can Incorporated is truly a place for all things Black Girl Inspiration and we came running to the protection of black girls and women way before others decided to pay attention. And we will always be here to honestly do the work and remind our girls that, We Can. We Will. We Do.

I am most happy when our girls that graduate from the Black Girls Can Inc. program reach back out and tell us that they either started their own business or considered a new career choice, feel more confident, and this discovery all came from their time spent in the Black Girls Can program.

At Black Girls Can Inc. we are impacting lives, and we work to provide the best life outcomes for our Black girls, and we don’t take that lightly.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family and friends have indeed been solid support system. Every prayer, brainstorm, and words of encouragement have kept this machine going. I am nothing without the Dennis Family and my chosen friend group. To my love…staying up late with me on concepts and ideas, rehearsing speeches, running errands, and shipping packages all in the name of Black Girls Can–Thank You for believing!

Website: https://www.blackgirlscaninc.org
Instagram: @blackgirlscan personal: @livehumbly_ken
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/black-girls-can-incorporated?trk=similar-pages_result-card_full-click
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackgirlscaninc/

Image Credits
@dfinneyphoto D Finney Photography