From The Soul of Philanthropy exhibit’s Artist Statement:

Drawing with light is both a literal and metaphorical description of photography. Giving Back: The Soul of Philanthropy Reframed and Exhibited draws inspiration from that definition as well as from the root meaning of philanthropy: love of what it means to be human. Each a potent concept on its own, combined, these ideas have fueled the design and programming for our exhibition. This exhibit illuminates the human impulse to show compassion, to progress, to see fairness, to connect with others and to love. We have composed an experience where the images glow, the stories enlighten and the desire to give back is set afire. In reframing portraits of philanthropy, we want viewers to embrace and act on the fact that we each have the capacity to give more and wiser.

So while the book Giving Back serves as a moving tribute, the exhibit and its programs are meant to compel us toward a triumphant movement of conscious giving for social change. 

— Author Valaida Fullwood and Photographer Charles Thomas 

Come to see philanthropy differently. | TheSoulofPhilanthropy.com

Watch ‘Full Circle’

Below are links to a series of film shorts from The Soul of Philanthropy. 

Love, Leadership and Justice | From the collaboration with philanthropic groups in Atlanta, Georgia

Deeper Than Your Pockets | From the collaboration with philanthropic groups in Columbia, South Carolina

When We Give Black | From the collaboration with philanthropic groups in Cleveland, Ohio

The Giving Back Project at 10 | From the collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) at the national conference of the Association of African American Museums in Washington, DC