What We Do

Our mission is to carry on the spirit and legacy of Reverend Leon H. Sullivan, the great African American international humanitarian, by leveraging the commitments and resources of the African Diaspora and Friends of Africa for positive change in the world.  We do so by advocating for domestic and international issues that Rev. Sullivan dedicated his life to, by supporting the work of the organizations he founded, and by providing a platform for Africa’s political, economic and cultural leaders in the United States. Our work is guided by the principles that Rev. Sullivan championed: self-help, social responsibility, economic empowerment and human rights.

The Sullivan Foundation has uniquely positioned itself to work with the Sullivan network to champion socio-economic issues in the United States, Africa and throughout the African Diaspora.  In this context, the Foundation works closely with the network of Sullivan organizations to collectively meet the needs of this constituency.  Furthermore, it engages corporate and government leaders to work to meet the challenges facing the world’s poor, and to promote social justice and better cooperation among all stakeholders in the global community.

In order to achieve its goals, the Foundation pursues key strategic efforts, these include:
--Policy and Special Intiatives, such as our Town Hall Forums and Heads of State Tributes;
--Programs, such as the Global Sullivan Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility and other Field Programming Activities;
--Leon H. Sullivan Summits and Leon H. Sullivan Summit Awards Dinners, held in alternate years on the African continent and the U.S., respectively; and
--Advocacy, wherein the Sullivan Foundation engages in government and media advocacy activities to help inform United States government policy, private sector economic investment and public opinion toward the nations and people of Africa.