Inspiring Inner City Men & Boys to Achieve More
Boys2Men Community Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering young men and boys. As a community-based organization (CBO), we lead by example to show our participants a better way to reach their fullest potential.
A Different Nonprofit
We are not your typical nonprofit. We coach Chicago participants on ways to live productive lives. We help men and boys get off the block and into business and off the corner and into a thriving career.
Our team invests in the education, professional development, workforce preparation, and economic development of communities of color. We combat health and economic disparities that hold underserved populations back. B2M helps to create a path forward!
Our Programs
Violence Prevention Strategies
From prevention to intervention to peacekeeping, we do it all for our participants. We invest in men and boys who have been forgotten, victimized, and displaced. We help our participants see and realize their potential. We know that violence creates trauma and our program speak to that trauma to address and resolve it. We turn pain into power. From speaker’s series to visiting Cook County jail, we show you the reality of your decisions and alternatives.
Workforce Development & Career Pathways
To build your community, you need capital. You need a career, a trade, an opportunity. Our team teaches youth how to pursue those opportunities and how to capitalize on them. From personal development to construction training to entrepreneurship, we teach you how to lead a business or better yet, how to build YOUR OWN! We give our participants financial and economic freedom and empowerment to uplift our most underserved communities.
Our Mission
We were created by Narcrissa Berry and Reneiko Carlisle, a successful team of entrepreneurs who are eager to invest in our youth. Narcrissa is the owner of several well-established and highly-supported firms in the Chicagoland area: B Jays Transportation Inc., World Leaders Learning Centers, and the Barbara Jean Foundation. Her husband, Reneiko is also the proud co-owner of Carlisle Construction. Together, as President and Vice-President of B2M, they have created a nonprofit with a focus on results and empowerment.
Our mission is to reduce violence in Chicago by empowering inner city young men through education and training. Our real-world based programming, gives young men alternatives to gun violence by promoting wellbeing, personal development, and new career pathways. Our purpose is to give at-risk youth a chance at a life they never even dreamt of. We exist to support underserved and historically disenfranchised communities looking for revitalization and support. Through prevention activities and community empowerment, we deliver!
Above all, B2M is fun! We take our participants on field trips. We see the world and deliver physical activity. We provide access to mentors and speakers who have been through the same challenges our participants face. From stipends to college tours, we invest in your growth. We also teach our participants the same techniques that have made us successful. By building authentic connections, we win the trust of our community. By building trust, we have a higher adoption rate for our approaches. A higher adoption rate leads to more outcomes and goals achieved.
You are not your neighborhood. Your upbringing. Your past or your failures.
You have the power to be and achieve everything you set your mind to do. Get off the block and into your purpose. Learn a new way of living. Don’t just survive, thrive. Become the man you were meant to be!
It’s time for our Annual Back 2 School Backpack Giveaway!
Join us on August 19 at 12 PM for free food, music, and backpacks. Come start the school year right and support our cause!
Let’s help support Austin area boys!
Our Founders: Reneiko Carlisle & Narcrissa Berry
“Our vision for Boys2Men is to give back to the communities that made us. As successful entrepreneurs, we bootstrapped our way to success. We are equipping our youth with strategies we didn’t have. We are providing real support to get tangible results. You can turn your life around for the better. We can show you how!”
Support Our Sister
Agency, Barbara Jean Foundation
The Barbara Jean Foundation (BJF) helps women blossom into their true potential by activating the gifts that lie within. While Boys2Men focuses on educating and developing men and boys, BJF targets women and girls in economically disadvantaged areas, victims of gun and domestic violence, communities at or near the poverty line, and historically underserved communities. Both of our teams invest in the education, professional development, workforce preparation, and economic development of communities in need.
“Did you know that in 2021, Chicago achieved 836 homicides, according to data maintained by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.”
For the sake of our youth and our future, we must act. We must provide alternatives to gun violence and access to support services.
— Reneiko Carlisle, Vice-President of Boys2Men Community Foundation, Inc.
Need Support?
Our staff is ready, willing & able to support your needs. Connect with a team with a vision for your success!
Request Info
Join an organization of likeminded community leaders making a true difference. Don’t sit through another lecture.
Invest in your future. Focus on economic empowerment. Learn your strengths and what makes you unique. Put down the guns and pick up a skill to improve your quality of life. Create generational wealth to change your community for the better!
If you would like more information or if you have questions, contact us. We are here to support you!
Email: info@boys2menchicago.org