Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens will be honored as a Champion of Change next Thursday, Nov. 12, when the T.D. Jakes Foundation opens its inaugural Thriving Seven Summit with an award reception built around a fireside conversation with Bishop T.D. Jakes himself. The event marks the first public gathering tied to the three-day summit, which organizers describe as bringing together leaders in faith, government, business, entertainment and social impact.
According to Atlanta Daily World, the Champion of Change Award Reception will honor Dickens and feature Jakes in what the outlet describes as a special fireside conversation celebrating leadership and community transformation. Jakes is identified in the report as chairman of the T.D. Jakes Group, while Kelley Cornish holds the title of president and CEO of the T.D. Jakes Foundation, the organization hosting both the reception and the broader summit.
Guests are expected to begin arriving at 3:30 p.m. ET, with the official program starting at 4:15 p.m., per the same report. The reception takes place in Atlanta, though exact venue information and media arrival instructions will be provided privately to approved media, the outlet notes.
A Three-Day Gathering With a Wide Guest List
The reception is just the opening note of the Thriving Seven Summit, which runs Nov. 12 through Nov. 14 in Atlanta, according to t7summit.com. The summit's own materials describe it as convened by the T.D. Jakes Foundation and positioned as the next chapter of its International Leadership Summit.
Atlanta Daily World's reporting lists an extensive roster of planned summit talent spanning several tracks: entertainment, media and culture names such as Taraji P. Henson, Rashan Ali, Brian McIntosh, Shaunie Henderson, DeVon Franklin, Tracy “The D.O.C.” Curry, Stacy Spikes and Teej Mercer; politics and public affairs figures including Van Jones, Angela Rye and Bakari Sellers; and business and innovation voices such as Morgan DeBaun, Damola Adamolekun, Janice Bryant Howroyd, Arian Simone, Teri Ijeoma, Alicia Lyttle, Gary Schlossberg and Jason Rosenberg. Faith, leadership and community-impact programming is expected to include Dr. Joel Tudman, Apostle Buckner, Shirley Davis, Dr. Irvin Scott, Joiselle Smith, Nicole Martin, Dr. Karri Bryant, Dystany Spurlock and Mrs. Jakes. The article is careful to note, however, that select summit speakers and guests may also attend the reception itself, but their attendance at that specific event has not been confirmed.
A $1.5 Million Grant Challenge Tied to the Summit
Running alongside the leadership programming is a Social Impact Grant Challenge launched by the T.D. Jakes Foundation with Wells Fargo as a funding partner. The initiative anticipates awarding a total of $1.5 million in grant funding, per the t7summit.com page. The foundation administers the challenge and makes the final award decisions, with Wells Fargo serving strictly as a strategic funding partner that does not participate in selecting recipients or in grant-making decisions, the site states. The application window for the challenge closed Aug. 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
The push for new funding streams comes against a backdrop Cornish has described as increasingly difficult for nonprofits. In a conversation with rollingout.com, Cornish said, “Over the past three or four years, it's just been this weird cycle of funding diminishing.” That remark frames the grant challenge as part of a broader effort to steady resources for organizations navigating a tighter philanthropic landscape.
