our founders

Lulete Mola

President & Co-Founder

Lulete Mola is a social change strategist with a proven track record of building and nurturing impactful initiatives and organizations. She is the Co-Founder and President of the Black Collective Foundation MN, Minnesota’s first Black community foundation and a pioneer of culturally specific philanthropy nationwide.

At the Collective, Lulete has led the organization in building an exceptional infrastructure—distributing more than $3.3 million through community-led grantmaking, producing nationally recognized research, and launching MN LEAD, Minnesota’s first initiative to proactively defend race-conscious programs and policies. She continues to lead efforts to grow $50M in assets and expand Black philanthropic power by rooting philanthropy in the genius of Black-led change.

Lulete began organizing at 15 when she founded a young women’s leadership program that grew across schools and communities, setting the foundation for nearly two decades of advancing racial and gender justice. Beyond her title, Lulete works across sectors and platforms to translate everyday actions into lasting systems shifts. Drawing as much from fashion, art, and technology as from traditional movements, she curates experiences that weave social change into daily life—and daily life into social change. This vision comes to life through her contributions to community organizing, building collective power, and advancing women’s political leadership.

Previously, Lulete served as Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, where she led community investments, programming, strategic communications, and bold fundraising that fueled large-scale systems change. In that role, she also led the Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota, a $10M public-private partnership advancing equity for Black, Indigenous, and young women of color.

Her voice and work have been published in Huffington Post, For Harriet, Candid’s Philanthropy News Digest, and the Star Tribune, and featured in numerous media outlets. She has served on the Minnesota Council of Foundations Board of Directors and currently serves on the VoteRunLead National Board.

Lulete’s leadership has been recognized nationally: she is a 2020 Aspen Institute SOAR Fellow, a 2022 Facing Race Award recipient, a 2023 Mpls/St. Paul Business Journal Women in Business honoree, and was selected to the 2025 Young American Leaders Program at Harvard Business School. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota, where she recently received the College of Liberal Arts Emerging Alumni Award.

Lulete is a mother of three, including two under two, and considers motherhood her most joyful and important role.