Love. Give. Go. Do.

Three stories have come my way the last week or two, revealing how the video introducing Giving Back, titled [ philanthropy reframed ], is being used as a tool with a range of groups and in a variety of settings. Immense satisfaction fills me when I hear these stories. With a running time of a whopping 2.5 minutes, the book trailer took nearly as long to produce as the book and required eking out every ounce of my perseverance and resourcefulness.

So here’s one example of how and why the video is being shared with youth:

“Our Jack and Jill teens group is comprised of five young people in high school. …They are committed to philanthropy and giving back—a characteristic that will distinguish them as a small but mighty set of young people, and we are using ‘philanthropy reframed’ as an orientation to owning the language.”

Then there’s this example:

“I shared ‘philanthropy reframed‘ in a [church] seminar just this past week. Your personal advice about connection, audience and your speaking engagements touched me…a wonderful reminder of God’s grace, and how He works through people too.”

And then there’s this piece that was sent to a friend and then forwarded to me:

“… I was recently in a leadership training workshop and we viewed a short video that YOU were in!!! It was about the changing face of philanthropy. Basically African Americans’ increasing role in philanthropy…Many people from my leadership class (including myself) wanted a copy of that video! If you have it, can you forward me a link or URL to that video? It was super impact-ful!”

So if you’ve never seen it or it’s been a while, here it is . . .

philanthropy reframed vid screenshot

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‘Cause That’s How We Do

Today our book trailer [ philanthropy reframed ] reached 1000 views on YouTube!

Watch it (again) and share it to hear a new voice, to feel a new vibe, to experience a new video and to gain a new view on philanthropy. #getyourgiveon

philanthropy reframed vid screenshot

Watch [Philanthropy Reframed]

Charles W. Thomas Jr., photographer

New voices. New vibe. New video. New view on philanthropy.

Watch our new 2.5-minute video trailer for the Giving Back Project and its centerpiece publication, Giving Back. The project is a civic engagement campaign comprising artful stories and photography that reframe portraits of philanthropy.

For too long, philanthropy has been narrowly defined by great wealth and large monetary gifts. Prevailing stories about giving often exclude generous everyday people and feed false notions about who can give and make a difference. Changing the world requires us to rethink and reframe philanthropy.

The Giving Back Project brings new content and fresh approaches to include a wider slice of society in philanthropy. Through our publications, multimedia presentations and interactive community forums, we lift up inspiring stories of everyday givers.

  • Literary arts
  • Photography
  • Spoken-word poetry
  • Oral history
  • Music
  • Digital media
  • Social networking

No matter the medium, our stories promote the belief that we all can and should give back, no matter our age or our circumstances. We celebrate generous gifts of time, talent and treasure and venture to reclaim the root meaning of philanthropy, love of humanity.

The Giving Back Project aims to ignite a movement of conscientious philanthropy by empowering a generation to recognize its power and responsibility to give back.

Join us…and get your give on!