IPCDF Story | ipcdf

Our small and meaningful good deeds will create a ripple effect of service from others who will help and encourage others.

Welcome

Welcome and thank you for visiting Imani Pearls Community Development Foundation’s Website!

Faith Invested. Communities Uplifted.

That is our approach! Imani Pearls Community Development Foundation (IPCDF) was established on November 17, 2005 as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and implements signature programs as well as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated's 2022-2026 International Program Initiatives. IPCDF faithfully serves individuals and organizations in the Bronzeville, Douglas, Englewood, Grand Boulevard, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Oakland, and Washington Park communities of Chicago, Illinois with intention to uplift.

We award over $25,000 annually in scholarships to high school seniors and college students.
We host an annual HBCU College Fair, informing students and families of selection processes, scholarship and financial opportunities, college life, and onsite acceptances and scholarships.
We host an annual Thanksgiving Day of Service, providing full holiday meal grocery giveaways (including turkey or ham) to over 400 families and highlighting valuable community resources..
We host a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service where we have spent a full day with community partners and collaborating with over 200 adolescents to keep his dream of non-violent change relevant and alive.
We have extended our impact beyond our service areas, by providing in-person service projects in Rwanda, Ghana, and Costa Rica.
We give of our time, monetary donations, school supplies, books, toiletries, shoes, clothing, and so much more.

IPCDF embraces the power of our strong membership, celebrates and makes H.E.R.story by focusing on the gems in our communities and in our fold. As a purpose-driven foundation, we make it happen for our communities by advancing excellence and moving forward while simultaneously understanding the importance of tried and true back-to-basic values. IPCDF strives to maximize community outreach and looks forward to proclaiming with our stakeholders, organizational partners, and community members, “Together We Shine!”

Please take your time to learn more about who we are, what we do, who we service, and why we do it. We hope to call you a partner in our mission to uplift our communities!

Sincerely,

Tammara R. Wofford, President

Imani Pearls Community Development Foundation

The IPCDF Story

In 2005, 101 Alpha Kappa Alpha women created the Imani Pearls Community Development Foundation to build stronger, healthier neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side. In the same year, IPCDF gained status as a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt charitable foundation.

Named after the Kwanza principle, Imani, which is also the Swahili word for “faith,” we operate on the premise that a helping hand can transform the life of someone who can spin adversity into something beautiful – like a cultured pearl – and bring new hope to our communities.

In the beginning, IPCDF functioned as the fundraising and philanthropic arm of Chi Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®. In addition to awarding community grants and college scholarships, we administered a wide variety of community outreach programs prescribed by our sorority’s international leadership. These programs addressed issues like domestic and teen violence, human trafficking, economic inequity, literacy, physical and mental wellness, global poverty, hunger and homelessness — to name a few.

Erika Whitehead, Vice President

We’ve restructured to operate as a stand-alone charitable organization and fine-tuned the scope of our efforts to make a bigger difference. In order to make a more significant impact on education, crime, and joblessness within our service area, IPCDF now focuses on:

Helping high school students graduate, gain acceptance into college, and pay college and/or vocation education costs.
Strengthening entrepreneurship and local business development that may eventually provide much-needed jobs
Supporting grassroots community action that improves the quality of life in the South Side communities we serve.