Engineering Hope: Why Kenneth Donaldson Never Left the Black United Fund

Kenneth Donaldson never planned on becoming the President of BUFMI. In fact, he studied engineering in college and only joined the organization for a summer job. But once he started working with Detroit youth, he knew he couldn’t walk away.

“I couldn’t sit behind a drafting board all day,” he admitted. “Not when I could be helping kids find purpose.”

That summer job turned into decades of leadership. Under Donaldson’s guidance, BUFMI has supported over 1,000 community organizations, launched dozens of career prep programs, and changed countless lives. He’s seen kids go from local classrooms to flying planes over Detroit, from retail internships to business ownership.

One moment sticks out: a woman in D.C. shouting across a graduation ceremony to thank him. Her son, a BUFMI participant, was graduating from Georgetown. “She told me we helped get him there,” he said, choking up. “That’s why I do what I do.”

Now, with summer programs in retail, innovation, automotive, and medicine, Donaldson is focused on growing BUFMI’s reach. “The more we raise, the more kids we can help,” he said.

It turns out engineering was just the beginning. These days, Kenneth Donaldson isn’t building machines. He’s building futures.