African Professionals Network (APNET)
The 16th Annual APNET
Join us for an evening celebrating excellence, empowering futures, and building lasting impact.
One night a year, we stop and look at what this community built
One evening. Professionals, entrepreneurs, students, community leaders, partners and supporters in one room ~ eating well, dressed beautifully, and deciding together what the next year looks like.
Every year APNET gathers the people who make this work possible. We hand scholarships to students who have earned them. We honour the neighbours quietly holding this community together. We eat food that tastes like home, watch a fashion showcase, and raise what it takes to keep the doors open.
This year we are doing something new: showing you not only what APNET has accomplished, but what it actually takes to sustain and grow the work. You will see the numbers. You will see where the gaps are. And you will have a clear way to help close them before you leave.
Come hungry, come dressed for a celebration, and come ready to be part of the next sixteen years.
Plan your night
3440 Central Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45225 · venue website
Doors at 5:00 pm
On-site parking; come early for the marketplace
Formal or African
Business professional, formal, African or international dress
Dinner, program & entertainment
Bar serving signature cocktails
How the night unfolds
Doors open at five. From there it moves.
Cocktail reception & the African Marketplace
Arrive, find your table, work the room. Signature cocktails at the bar, and a marketplace of African vendors and artisans open for browsing before you sit down.
Dinner: African-inspired cuisine
Dinner drawing on kitchens across the continent and the diaspora.
Keynote address
Our featured speaker on leadership, belonging, and building something that lasts.
The APNET Impact presentation
The honest version: what the last year produced, what it cost, and what comes next. Roughly fifteen minutes, and worth every one of them.
Awards & scholarship presentation
Students and community leaders called to the stage. If you have never watched a scholarship recipient hear their name, this is the part of the night people remember.
African fashion showcase
Designers and models take the runway. Color, texture and craft.
Silent auction
Bidding opens with the reception and closes during the program. Every dollar goes straight into the work.
Cultural performances & dancing
Drummers, dancers, and a floor that fills up. Stay to the end.
Exact program times will be confirmed closer to the event.
Voices in the conversation
Community and industry leaders joining us for the evening’s discussion.
Dana Harley
Professor, College of Allied Health Sciences, School of Social Work
University of Cincinnati
Who we honor, and why
Each year we celebrate members and neighbours who embody APNET’s mission of networking, business and professional development, and community engagement.
Spirit of APNET
For someone who connects people across every walk of life and culture into relationships that benefit both sides through steady, unglamorous public service.
Business & Community Engagement
For individuals and organizations whose commitment to this community shows up as dedication and innovation, locally or globally, and consistently.
APNET Trailblazer
For a member who has carried APNET into the wider community while building real success in their own professional life.
The APNET Annual Scholarship
Awarded to high school and undergraduate students of African descent in Greater Cincinnati, recognizing academic strength alongside everything they do outside the classroom. Recipients receive a plaque on stage. Twelve were awarded at last year’s gala.
- Conference attendance
- Creative & artistic programs
- Graduate exam fees
- Textbooks
What it meant to them
Being recognized by APNET motivated me to work harder on Village Life’s mission to “unite communities to promote Life, Health, and Education.” I believe now, more than ever, that unity among people of the African diaspora is a key to our advancement as a society.
Africa Fire Mission is honored to serve in Africa to build the capacity of the fire service throughout Africa and to bring community fire prevention programs to Africa. The award from APNET has been a big encouragement to us and has helped us to continue to expand our service throughout Africa.
The Spirit of APNET Award was an inspiring achievement that has opened doors to promoting African culture and traditions in the diaspora. It has encouraged me to do more, to inspire, and to educate. It has shaped me to be an ambassador.
This Award has been a reminder to myself and my peers that we have a responsibility to serve and uplift others in the community.
This Award helped me to achieve my educational goals. I am deeply grateful to the APNET Community.
What the last year actually produced
These are not attendance figures. They are young people who found a mentor, businesses that found a customer, and families that found a community and they are the reason the evening exists.
Where the money goes
Five priorities. The fifth is the one most organizations are too shy to name.
Scholarships & education
Direct awards to students, presented at this gala.
Youth development
Leadership, financial literacy, career readiness, wellness and personal development for diaspora young people.
Entrepreneurship & professional development
Coaching, visibility and connections for founders and members building careers.
Culture & community programs
The festivals, mixers and gatherings that hold this community together.
Capacity & sustainability
The part nobody puts on a flyer: staff, systems, and the ability to keep going.
Why we are asking for capacity funding this year
As APNET grows, we need additional human and financial resources to sustain the work. Capacity support funds administrative and program staff, fundraising, communications, financial management, technology, program coordination, and organizational systems.
Programs are easy to fund because they are easy to picture. The coordinator who answers a parent’s email, the accountant who files the return, the person who books the venue: those are harder to picture and impossible to run without. Your support funds both the programs our community experiences and the people and infrastructure that make those programs possible.
Four ways in
Pick the one that fits. Every route ends in the same room.
Come to the gala
Individual seats and full tables. Pricing and availability are live on Eventbrite now – tables tend to go first.
What a seat includes
Your seat covers the reception, the dinner and the full program set out above, plus browsing rights at the marketplace and the auction. The bar is open throughout.
Hosting a table
A table seats your colleagues, family or clients together and includes recognition at the event. It is the simplest way to bring people who have never met APNET into the room and it counts as a Table Sponsorship at the $1,000 level.
Sponsor the evening
Corporate and community sponsorships put your name in front of hundreds of guests while funding scholarships and programming directly.
Give without attending
Not everyone can make a Saturday evening in Cincinnati. A direct gift does the same work, and every amount goes toward the five priorities above.
Give your time
Galas run on volunteers: registration, marketplace, auction, setup and teardown. It is also the fastest way to meet everyone.
Organisations that showed up
Our most recently published sponsor roster.
Diamond
Platinum
Gold
Silver
Bronze
In Kind
Before you come
The practical questions, answered. Tap any to open.
What should I wear?
Whichever of the four you feel best in. Guests genuinely do wear the full range and the room is better for it. If you own something you have been saving for the right occasion, this is it.
Where do I park?
On-site parking is available at the venue on Central Parkway. Detailed parking and entrance instructions go out to ticket holders in the week before the event.
Can I request a dietary accommodation?
We strive to accommodate a variety of dietary needs, because authentic African cuisine relies on shared cooking methods and staple allergens like peanuts and seafood, we cannot guarantee customized meals or an allergen-free environment. Guests with severe allergies should exercise caution.
Is the venue accessible?
Yes. If you need step-free routing, seating near the stage, or any other accommodation, email apnetcincy@myapnet.org and we will arrange it ahead of the night.
Can I bring guests who are new to APNET?
Please do, that is largely the point. First-time guests are the people most likely to become next year’s members, volunteers and sponsors.
Will there be photography?
Yes. APNET photographs the gala for its newsroom, social channels and next year’s materials.
Is my ticket or sponsorship tax-deductible?
APNET is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so gifts may be deductible – though the deductible portion of an event ticket is usually reduced by the value of what you receive, such as dinner. We are not tax advisers, so please confirm the treatment of your particular gift with yours. Email apnetcincy@myapnet.org for an acknowledgement letter.
Who do I contact about anything else?
Email apnetcincy@myapnet.org. A person reads it.
We would like you at the table
Sixteen years of this community showing up for one another. One Saturday in November to celebrate it, and to fund what comes next.
Celebrating Excellence. Empowering Futures.
Building Capacity for Lasting Impact.