The Jackie Robinson Foundation is an incredible 37-year-old organization dedicated to breaking barriers for minority achievers by seeking to improve their opportunities through education. Founded by Rachel Robinson, widow of baseball great Jackie Robinson, the Jackie Robinson Foundation cultivates the 250 students it serves annually through an effective and impressive combination of college scholarships, mentoring and more. The Jackie Robinson Foundation boasts a 97% graduation rate.

The foundation recently held its yearly Robie Awards fundraising gala, at which achievers dedicated to humanitarian goals are recognized as exemplars of Jackie Robinson's legacy. This year's Robie Award recipients were opera superstar Jessye Norman, MLB Commissioner Allan "Bud" Selig, Joseph J. Plumeri, Chairman and CEO of the Willis Group and Unilever CEO Paul Polman. MLB Commissioner Selig was thrilled to receive his Robie, stating: "What makes this award so meaningful is Jackie Robinson's contributions to American society. He changed this country in a very positive way. To get a lifetime humanitarian achievement award in his name -- I can't be honored with a higher award than that."

Della Britton Baeza, President and CEO of The Jackie Robinson Foundation (left, with founder Rachel Robinson and Chariman Leonard S. Coleman, Jr.), took some time to talk to Black Voices about the foundation hours before the electrifying awards dinner. The Robie Awards Gala raised $1.8 million in one evening to help students of color, demonstrating both the power of the organization and the great leadership skills of Della Britton Baeza. Learn more about business and black philanthropy from this seasoned African American executive, who knows how to merge social activism and corporate thinking in a harmonious and helpful way.

What is the most exciting aspect of a night like The Jackie Robinson Foundation gala?
It is bringing our incredible scholars before our supporters, friends and other constituencies. This is really the night that we get to showcase the tremendous work that we do.

Bill Cosby has been the host for many years. Can you explain why he's so committed to your organization?
He has been one of our most stalwart supporters, just in our being able to count on him every single year as the host of this event. But throughout the year we are in touch with Mr. Cosby. I think it's pretty fair to say he's been a champion of education his entire professional career. He understands the importance of not only providing financial assistance to young people who are motivated and show the aptitude for college, but you also have to help these young people develop the strategies to succeed and graduate. One of the things that Mr. Cosby is so impressed with in our program is that we have a 97% graduation rate.

This year's Robie Award honorees come from diverse backgrounds. How are recipients chosen?
It is a process that is very circumspect, conducted by our board of directors and our staff in conjunction. We are serious about finding people who deserve recognition for being leaders in their communities in the area of equal opportunity, and the area of excellence in their professional endeavors. We are looking for people who embody those characteristics Jackie Robinson, and indeed our founder Rachel Robinson, have themselves promoted. Those who, like Jackie Robinson, have lived their lives in a way that is an example for our young people, with integrity, with a sense of excellence -- those are candidates for our Robie awards. Sometimes they're industry leaders, sometimes they're artistic leaders. Sometimes they are leaders in their communities on a smaller scale. But they are always people who embody those values by which Jackie lived his life.


Has anyone had a particularly touching reaction to receiving the Robie?
Now that's a very interesting question. Tom Brokaw did an interview once on his life, and he mentioned just how special Jackie Robinson was to him and his development. It's one of the reasons that he "got on our screen" if you will, and we approached him to honor him. Literally, in an interview talking about Jackie Robinson he had to fight back tears. That's big stuff for a man who's seen all that he has seen.

Another moment that was particularly interesting was during my first year [at the foundation]. Dr. Ruth Simmons, who is the president of Brown University, and the first black woman president of a major university, received the award that year in 2004. She got up and said, "First of all, I'm going to put my speech aside," and she said "I want to speak to all the students in the balcony. Don't let anybody on your college campus tell you that you don't belong there. You deserve to be where you are. You've earned it." And so, at a time in our country when there is still intolerance, and students are still feeling marginalized on campuses that we have integrated as people of color, she said, "Don't be told that you are there for any other reason than that you deserve to be there. This is not about affirmative action. You deserve it as well as the next student, and make the best of it." What she said was so powerful, you really could hear a pin drop.

P. Diddy one year gave the award to Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. It was the year that Ossie died – he died later that year. And [Diddy] was about tostar in 'A Raisin in the Sun.' When he was presenting the award to them, he just had such a sense of humility and deference to them. He was so humble, and said he was honored to be in their presence. Of course he is such a big star, but he had such a sense of humility towards them. That was a highlight too, and I thought young people should see that.

Can you share a story about how a scholar has been inspired by the foundation?
We have a very active alumni association, so a lot of alumni actually come back to this conference. I don't know if you realize, but this dinner is actually a culmination of a four-day conference where we bring our hundreds of Jackie Robinson Scholars from around the country to New York City and this happens every year. We call it our Networking Weekend. It's a four day conference where we do a very, very deep mentoring for four days. Seminars on career development, seminars on work-life balance, practical life skills, how to manage your personal finances, public speaking, conflict resolution. We are the most comprehensive mentoring program connected with college scholarships. That happens [during this weekend], and the alumni come back. But I'll tell you a story that I think is a nice story.


Two years ago, one of our students was a senior in the program and it was the last year he would be coming back for this mentoring conference. He came up to me at the beginning on Friday afternoon and said, "Listen, I want to know if I can speak to you later on tonight. I need to talk to you about something." And I said, "Sure catch me after the dinner." We found a corner, and he opened his wallet and he took out a check, and he handed it to me, and he said "I've been part of this program for four years. In fact, I got my job with AT&T through the Jackie Robinson Foundation. You put me in an internship, I got a permanent offer, and I am going to be working with AT&T beginning in September." And he said, "The other thing I've learned from this organization is giving back," because we actually require our students to perform community service. Then he said "In the spirit of giving back that you taught me when I thought I had nothing to give back, I want to give you this check." I get chocked up when I tell this story. He said, "I want to give you this check, but you can't cash it until September 20th, because that's my first paycheck. It's only 100 dollars, but it's going to be more as the years go on, because I want to be sure that I give back to the organization that helped me so much." He's been a great alumnus since then.

And I tell you I lost it. Here was a kid, who other than summer jobs, had not earned a real professional salary. And he said, "The first check I want to write to help somebody else is to The Jackie Robinson Foundation." I probably don't have to tell you that I had a hard time cashing that check. It's on my desk right now as we speak.

Have you always worked in public service?
No, I started as a lawyer with a large Washington, D.C. law firm, Covington and Burling, right out of Columbia Law School. I then went in-house to ABC television where I was an assistant general counsel, and from there I ran two family broadcast businesses and then a record company – AJM records which launched the career of Ashanti. This is really a third career for me.

And we've grown. When I came [to the JRF] we had half the number of scholars. We've got new office space. And you may have read that we are now in the process of building the Jackie Robinson Museum in lower Manhattan. We are just over half way there in terms of our fund raising. The Jackie Robinson Museum in fact will be the only civil rights museum in New York City, which is a little ironic in the home of Lady Liberty. It will be a civil rights museum using Jackie's life to illustrate civil rights accomplishments in this country. With the Jackie Robinson Museum we will increase our national profile, and then do even more in the education area with our initiatives and fellowship programs.

I came on board six years ago thinking they were looking for someone who had a corporate approach. In the board's wisdom, they assumed that any non-profit organization that is going to survive is going to have to run itself more with corporate principles in mind. I expected to come in for a few years and implement what I thought would be good best practices for a non-profit, and it's a labor of love. I'm afraid they're going to have to fire me, or I'm going to have to retire in this job.

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The Jackie Robinson Foundation Annual Awards Dinner was held on March 8, 2010, and raised $1.8 million for its successful scholarship program. To learn more please visit Jackierobinson.org.