We Raise Foundation Awards Two Emerging Leader Grants
We Raise Foundation Awards Two Emerging Leader Grants
Itasca, IL—We Raise Foundation recently awarded two Emerging Leader Grants totaling $30,000. Emerging Leader Grants are an investment in the development of rising nonprofit professionals at Christian organizations who are leading new programs at the intersection of poverty, violence, and inequality.
Each Emerging Leader grantee receives $15,000 over two years, with $10,000 supporting the program and $5,000 supporting leadership development. This leadership development includes attending a Leadership Fundamentals Course through The Center for Creative Leadership, attending the Global Leadership Summit through satellite locations, and receiving individualized leadership coaching.
“We Raise is pleased to announce the two latest additions to our community of Emerging Leader Grantees,” said Paul Miles, President/CEO of We Raise. “Derek and Enoch represent innovative, passionate leaders in their community, and are wonderful examples of people with an active faith. Our donor community can be proud to lift them up and support their work. As with all our grantees, we celebrate their generosity by investing in the work of Derek and Enoch.”
The Emerging Leader Grant Program has a rolling deadline and awards grants twice yearly. The next deadline is September 30, 2025, and grants will be awarded in November. For more information regarding grant requests, please visit the website at weraise.org/emergingleadergrants.
The newest Emerging Leader Grant recipients are:
Derek Barksdale
Laundry Remodel and Expansion
City Hope Tempe, Tempe, Ariz.
Leader Profile:
Derek Barksdale is the project leader and Site Manager of City Hope Tempe’s resource center, which held its public launch in February 2025. Though relatively new to nonprofit leadership, Barksdale brings a strong background in education and ministry. He spent eight years teaching at a Christian school in Southern California, working with students from preschool to high school, before serving as a Next Gen Pastor in West Phoenix for two years. After a brief hiatus from vocational ministry, Barksdale joined the staff of Citypoint Church in Tempe in 2022, leading its college ministry. In July 2024, he stepped into his current role, overseeing the resource center’s daily operations and development.
Project Summary:
City Hope Tempe’s Laundry Remodel and Expansion will enhance its ability to serve the community by increasing access to free laundry services. Currently, the facility serves 90-110 unhoused individuals once a month. With more energy/water-efficient machines and an expanded footprint, the program will provide laundry services every Saturday, benefiting an estimated 50-60 households per month in addition to the existing services for unhoused individuals. The laundry service will complement City Hope Tempe’s resource center, which offers food, hygiene products, and clothing at no cost. As a ministry of Citypoint Church, City Hope Tempe seeks to provide relief, build relationships, and share the message of Jesus, viewing this service as both a practical necessity and an opportunity to extend Christ’s love to the community.
Rev. Enoch Kim
Children’s Ministry
Good News Hawaii Church, Aiea, HI
Leader Profile:
Pastor Enoch Kim has been serving as the pastor of Good News Hawaii Church for two years. Before his time in Hawaii, he served at Good News Church in New Jersey, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, contributing to each congregation for four years. Originally from Korea, Pastor Kim majored in Economics at Jeju National University but felt called to a different path after spending a year and a half as a short-term missionary in Uganda in 2016. This experience led him to transfer to Mahanaim Bible College in Seoul, where he pursued theological studies. In Hawaii, Pastor Kim is passionate about working with children and is dedicated to creating programs such as a children’s camp, a ukulele recital, and the “Hometown Project,” which takes local children on tours around Hawaii to connect with the island’s beauty.
Project Summary:
The Good News Hawaii Church’s Children’s Ministry program will serve approximately 20 children, primarily from Micronesian communities, every Saturday. The program provides Bible lessons emphasizing love, hope, and resilience, ukulele lessons to build confidence and musical skills, and group hymn singing to foster spiritual growth. Shared meals will promote fellowship and help address basic nutritional needs, while occasional field trips will expose the children to new experiences and broaden their horizons. Through these activities, the program aims to create a supportive and inclusive environment where children feel a sense of belonging, develop life skills, and gain hope for their future.
About We Raise Foundation
Motivated by the belief that freedom is grace in action (Galatians 5:1a), We Raise Foundation partners with Christian nonprofit organizations and emerging leaders working at the intersection of poverty, violence, and inequality. We have a preference for funding solutions within the areas of education, workforce development, and reentry and employ a unique approach to our investing by coupling program funding with a variety of robust value-added services that empower our grantees to grow their solutions. As a result of these value-added services, every $1 that donors invest through We Raise multiplies into more than double the benefit to the organizations we support. To learn more, please visit weraise.org. You can also find We Raise on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
