Black Male Engagement Initiative from Knight Foundation

Trabian Shorters

Trabian Shorters has a long history of creating and running innovative networks for the public good. As Vice President of Communities for Knight Foundation he is responsible for making informed and engaged communities in 26 large and small cities across the US.

His department runs the Knight Community Information Challenge (KCIC), a field-leading initiative to get hundreds of foundations to support local news and information. He is the principal behind Knight’s ground-breaking Black Male Engagement (BMe)work which focuses on thousands of black men as catalysts for positive local action. The Communities Program portfolio includes over $300M in active grants and endowments.

Trabian came to Knight Foundation from Ashoka, the world’s premiere organization for finding, funding and networking social entrepreneurs. As director of Ashoka-US, Trabian raised funds to support over 70 US Ashoka Fellows, vetted 17 himself and served on the executive leadership team.

Before working with networks of social entrepreneurs and philanthropists, Trabian created a technology network in partnership with AOL Time Warner, Microsoft, Fannie Mae and the Meyer Foundation.Technology Works for Good (now 501cTech) helpsnonprofits to use technology to serve more people better and faster. For this Trabian was nominated by AOL to be a Smithsonian Institution Laureate for innovations in technology delivery.

Trabian is one of the original organizers of the AmeriCorps National Service proposal; vice chair of DonorsChoose.org; a coach for New York University ’s Program for Social Entrepreneurship;and the proud first grandson of Kennis and Irma Lee Hutchons.