Fab Five!
Charles W. Thomas Jr., photographer
“The Philanthropic Five” featured here are friends and donor-members of the giving circle New Generation of African American Philanthropists (one of my fav photos!):
Five among an expansive circle of givers. Grateful for their inspiring stories and portraits in Giving Back.
Charles W. Thomas, photographer
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
— William A. Ward
An expressed thanks and acknowledgment of the sponsoring partners of the Giving Back Project. With their generous financial support—and that of 80 individual donors—New Generation of African American Philanthropists (NGAAP-Charlotte) is reframing portraits of philanthropy.
GivingVision Partners
Philanthropic organizations sponsoring the start-up of the Giving Back Project are:
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture
BlueCross and BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation
GivingMomentum Partner
GivingJoy Partner
Thank you!
Here we go! The push to October: http://bit.ly/book4allseasons
51 months in the making
392 manuscript pages
8000 social media connections…and growing
76 wise and revealing quotes from the ages
200 narratives on what it means to give back
180 portraits of everyday Black philanthropists
4 centuries of an American legacy rooted in Africa
33 photo shoot locations
999,999 reasons to give
1 book to reframe portraits of philanthropy
It’s been a long journey, covering a lot ground. But it wasn’t traveled alone…and it ain’t over yet. Every day on the way to the October release of Giving Back presents a rugged trail of things to do—marked by steep learning curves, nerve-wracking ledges, inevitable road blocks and surprise mountaintop highs.
Stretches traveled with companions bring welcomed relief. Joining my sometimes lonesome walk are my family and friends and unexpected folks who brighten my spirits and share the load. Encounters with kind encouragers replenish my often-dry canteen with optimism. “Seizing the day” the other night with Michelle, Kathryn and Katie…and Emeril…did just that!
Pushing through the longest hauls, like now for instance, are a little less daunting when I recognize I’m not alone. It’s a comfort knowing at arm’s reach are circle members from New Generation of African American Philanthropists, the project’s photographer Charles Thomas and Dimeji Onafuwa and India Simpson of Casajulie. Without them, this trekker would have headed home 40-some months ago.
— VF
In Giving Back, we ask: What’s distinctive about Black philanthropy?
Here’s a response . . .
“How dynamic it is—just like African Americans. Our philanthropy can take on many shapes and forms, from taking care of neighborhood children to preparing meals, from sharing our artistic talents tobraiding hair or donating dollars.” — Meka S. Sales
Charles W. Thomas Jr., photographer
Over the past week, I’ve begun receiving “advance commentary” on Giving Back. Selected readers of prominence, from across the country, have been more than generous with praise of the book’s stories and photography, and their affirmation means the world to me.
For more than four years, I was burrowed deeply in a writer’s hole and afflicted with a brutal case of tunnel vision in order to make this book happen. Making it happen meant not only generating the book’s content but also raising considerable funds and navigating the publishing industry, all of which were foreign to me.
Nevertheless, nothing could keep me from where my sights were cast. With remarkable clarity from the start, my mind’s eye held tight a vision that only sharpened over time. Though the vision was clear, the path was uncertain…really uncertain and seemingly treacherous at times. Trusting a gut sense while feeling my way through the dark and benefiting from gracious gestures made by Charles, family, friends and giving circle members helped move the book project forward.
After following a path that has tested every ounce of my soul and being, I’m sent higher than the sky to find that Giving Back can withstand the brightness outside the burrow and, in fact, shows best in the light of the wider world. When readers tell me they’ve seen, felt, thought and learned the things I long hoped someone…anyone…would, then it seems the years, the sacrifices and the times being misunderstood have been worth it.
Here’s one of the submissions from an advance reader that sent me flying over the moon:
“Astonishing . . . so beautiful, so deep and yet so inviting.
“Giving Back belongs in every American home, not just every home of Americans of African descent. Each page connects the readers and the children they love to generosity that God, the Declaration of Independence and our awe-inspiring Black forebears taught us all. A visual triumph. A story that has not been told!”
— Dr. Claire Gaudiani, author of The Greater Good, Generosity Unbound and Daughters of the Democracy
Charlotte Business Journal just ran a story (7.8.11) by Todd Cohen about Giving Back and New Generation of African American Philanthropists.
valaida 