Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
For-profit

New Impact Partners

Website:

www.newimpactpartners.co/
Location:

Dayton, Ohio
Founded:

2017
Type:

Progressive political consulting firm

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

 New Impact Partners (NIP) is a left-progressive consulting group. NIP advertises ”strategic advisement” services “from experienced Black women.” 1

The organization is connected to the larger Black Lives Matter movement and the controversial Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and is owned by the sister of Black Lives Matter Global Network board member Raymond Howard. The firm once listed the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation as a client but has since deleted the reference to the group on its website after inquiries from right-of-center media outlet the Washington Examiner about the firm’s relationship with the group. 2

The firm is operated by Danielle Edwards, an executive at Teach for America and reported strategist for the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. 3

Background

New Impact Partners was formed by Danielle Edwards in Dayton, Ohio. The company once listed the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation as a client on its website but has since deleted the reference to the organization following scrutiny of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s financial disclosure practices. 4

Black Lives Matter Financial Controversy

According to reporting in the Washington Examiner, New Impact Partners is owned by Danielle Edwards, the sister of Raymond Howard, a Black Lives Matter activist who has also worked as finance and operations manager of NIP. Howard is an associate of former Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) executive director Patrisse Cullors, and has praised her publicly on Facebook. Cullors resigned from the BLMGNF in May 2021 amid scrutiny over her reported $3.2 million worth of personal real estate purchases, though the BLMGNF has denied that any charitable funds were used for those transactions. 5

According to filings, Howard is or was a board member of the (BLMGNF), which has been the subject of controversies related to its lack of publicly apparent leadership and its apparent failure to timely file annual state nonprofit registrations, despite having raised tens of millions of dollars in 2020. BLMGNF is reportedly a client of NIP, but it is unknown how much money has been passed between the two groups. 6

After the Washington Examiner contacted Howard for comment on his role at BLMGNF and to ask how much money NIP received from BLMGNF, Howard removed or modified references to NIP and an apparent reference to BLMGNF from his LinkedIn page. NIP’s website also removed a quote attributed to a person named “Raymond” on behalf of BLMGNF. The testimonial had stated how NIP assisted BLMGNF with its organizational challenges. 7

As of early February 2022, much of NIP’s website is not functioning, including three links on its home page: the “about,” “team,” and “services” pages. 8

The LinkedIn page of Danielle Edwards, Howard’s sister and the reported owner of NIP, states that she has worked as a “strategist” for the BLMGNF since May 2018. 9

People

Danielle Edwards is the principal and owner of New Impact Partners. She lives in Dayton, Ohio and is also the vice president of talent communications and operations at New York-based nonprofit Teach for America. She also owns a handcrafted ice pop company, and previously spent 10 years as a technology consultant. She graduated from Spelman College and the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. 10 She has reportedly worked as a consultant to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and has apparently sponsored job postings on behalf of the organization. 11

Sojourner Marable Grimmett, a blogger and activist who is the daughter of left-of-center academic Manning Marable is also a consultant for the organization, 12 as is Howard University assistant professor of health communication and culture Monica Lindsey Ponder. 13

References

  1. “Introducing New Impact Partners, a strategy collective.” New Impact Partners. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.newimpactpartners.co/.
  2. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM accounting gimmick further delays disclosure of its $60M bankroll.” Washington Examiner. February 16, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blm-accounting-gimmick-further-delays-disclosure-of-its-60m-bankroll
  3. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM accounting gimmick further delays disclosure of its $60M bankroll.” Washington Examiner. February 16, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blm-accounting-gimmick-further-delays-disclosure-of-its-60m-bankroll
  4. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM accounting gimmick further delays disclosure of its $60M bankroll.” Washington Examiner. February 16, 2022. Accessed February 20, 2022.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blm-accounting-gimmick-further-delays-disclosure-of-its-60m-bankroll
  5. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM’s millions unaccounted for after leaders quietly jumped ship.” Washington Examiner. January 27, 2022. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blms-millions-go-unaccounted-for-after-leaders-quietly-jump-ship.
  6. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM’s millions unaccounted for after leaders quietly jumped ship.” Washington Examiner. January 27, 2022. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blms-millions-go-unaccounted-for-after-leaders-quietly-jump-ship.
  7. Kerr, Andrew. “BLM’s millions unaccounted for after leaders quietly jumped ship.” Washington Examiner. January 27, 2022. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/blms-millions-go-unaccounted-for-after-leaders-quietly-jump-ship.
  8. “Introducing New Impact Partners, a strategy collective.” New Impact Partners. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.newimpactpartners.co/.
  9. “Danielle Edwards.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellejhoward/.
  10. Hulsey, Lynn. “Community Gem: Danielle Edwards ‘invested in the good of what really matters.’” Dayton Daily News. July 11, 2021. Accessed February 20, 2022. https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/community-gem-danielle-edwards-invested-in-the-good-of-what-really-matters/NULGDNM5IJFUJCWEWMMNJIEATI/
  11. “Vice President of Finance And Operations @ Black Lives Matter Global Network.” Best Remote Jobs. Accessed February 20, 2022. https://bestremotejobs.co/jobs/remote-vice-president-of-finance-and-operations-at-black-lives-matter-global-network-911205
  12. “Sojourner Marable Grimmett. Moms Rising. Accessed February 20, 2022. https://www.momsrising.org/blog/users/sojourner-marable-grimmett#:~:text=Badges-,Sojourner%20Marable%20Grimmett%20is%20a%20blogger%2C%20educator%2C%20social%20media%20consultant,advocate%20for%20women%20and%20children.
  13. “Monica Lindsey Ponder.” Howard University. Accessed February 20, 2022. https://profiles.howard.edu/profile/58236/monica-lindsey-ponder
  See an error? Let us know!