Happiness in sharing WHEN WE GIVE BLACK. It’s a new documentary-style film short from The Soul of Philanthropy. It is a reminder that philanthropy is deeper than your pockets. Giving Black is about more than race or color, it is a consciousness and a culture. Good things to know and put into practice during this time of great need.
Please watch…and enjoy!
Let me tell you about my giving circle!
Actually, let members of the circle tell you who they are and what we value in the slideshow below.
I value being a part of a group that embraces continual learning, awards grants to support philanthropic causes, engages diverse audiences to raise our collective consciousness, advances social justice, seeks innovation and impact, explores a myriad of possibilities and supports each other while supporting our community.
For our 10th anniversary, members and friends of New Generation of African American Philanthropists engaged in #31AugustDays, a social media messaging campaign in observance of Black Philanthropy Month. The slideshow below is a compilation of the messages shared each day last month to elevate our culture of giving. An august group, celebrating an August of Black philanthropy. Enjoy!
— VF
The arrival of August will mark the start of Black Philanthropy Month (BPM). BPM is a multimedia campaign to inform, involve, inspire and invest in Black philanthropic leadership. As a campaign, BPM 2016 will comprise activities—online and in communities—to inspire people to give in conscious and more strategic ways. This year’s focal concept and theme is Elevating A Culture of Giving.
‘Our giving has always been seed capital for community change’
Jackie Copeland-Carson, PhD, founder of Black Philanthropy Month, notes, “Our giving has always been seed capital for community change. But with the pressing challenges facing us today, we need to do much more to strengthen our collective giving for the times. BPM 2016 kicks off a year-long revival of our community philanthropy. Black giving matters and we hope communities everywhere can join us to transform our future.”
During August and continuing throughout the year, the blog will highlight news, BPM Featured Events and more from communities across the country and globally.
‘Exercising the power of Black giving is my passion’
Tracey Webb, founder of Black Benefactors and former blogger at BlackGivesBack.com says, “Exercising the power of Black giving is my passion, and the stories illuminated every August remind me that there is solidarity and consequently I feel emboldened.”
To prepare for the launch of Black Philanthropy Month, be sure to do the following:
‘Giving liberates the soul of the giver’
Revelations on philanthropy are the focus of Maya Angelou’s written piece, “The Sweetness of Charity”. Ushered in with Black Philanthropy Month is a spirit of generosity and a time for reflection. Below is a selection of readings to help inform your philanthropic thinking and practice. These poems, essays and short stories—many recommended by the Center for Civic Reflection—are provided for you to read and ponder personally, to read aloud as an opening or closing piece of a public program, or to focus on in a discussion group. Elevate your giving with reflection.
“The Sweetness of Charity” by Maya Angelou
“Last Will And Testament of Mary McLeod Bethune” by Mary McLeod Bethune
“The Lovers of the Poor” by Gwendolyn Brooks
“Rich Aunt” by Valaida Fullwood
“What I Learned from My Mother” by Julia Kasdorf
“The Drum Major Instinct” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The Four Traditions of Philanthropy” by Elizabeth Lynn and D. Susan Wisely
“The Lamb and the Pinecone” by Pablo Neruda
“When Giving Is All We Have” by Alberto Rios
“Full Circle” by Quentin Talley
“Truth Be Told” by Ava Wood
What informs your giving? Share your response on Facebook and Twitter using #BPM2016.
Black Philanthropy Month is generously supported by BPM 2016 Campaign Partners: The California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation and The Give Black Foundation, along with a host of Institutional Sponsors.
Thank you,
#BPM2016 Architecture Team
Re-blogged from BPM365 via BlackPhilanthropyMonth.com. Proud and excited to be a part of the BPM Architecture Team, along with Jackie Copeland-Carson and Tracey Webb! — VF
Giving augustly, in August and year-round
Excerpt from the BPM 2015 Report For Our Community of Stakeholders:
This year’s focal concept was A Season of Change—a timely assertion that Black giving matters. News reports and personal experiences of racial discord, disturbing shootings, unsettling indignities and pervasive inequities serve as reminders of why traditions of giving and collective action for human rights and social change have been vital in Black communities for centuries. As a month-long campaign, BPM 2015 comprised activities—online and in communities—to inspire people to give back in smarter and more strategic ways and transform one another’s lives for the better.
BPM continues to offer an extraordinary opportunity for concerted efforts, globally, to address the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. The BPM Architecture Team relishes that each year growing numbers of diverse communities celebrate and renew rich, shared traditions of giving, self-help and innovation throughout the United States and the world. And while August shines a white-hot spotlight, Black philanthropy abounds 365 days a year.
September 1 opens the door to another year of Black giving in all its forms. Let’s keep giving augustly, and celebrate together again next August!
In substance and in symbolism, The Soul of Philanthropy Reframed and Exhibited represents our giving circle’s gifts of time, talent and treasure. It is part of our civic leadership in reframing portraits of philanthropy. Through the power of art and culture, the exhibit is designed as a call to action toward a movement of conscious giving for social change.
On September 5, the Pop-Up, Abridged Edition of “The Soul of Philanthropy” exhibit opens to the public at Charlotte’s Levine Museum of the New South. It will run through February 2016—Black History Month. Visit and you will see the exhibition celebrates our stories, which span the Old South and the New South. Our circle’s work is also shaping The South of the Future, because we recognize that Black giving matters.
Come to see philanthropy differently.
New Generation of African American Philanthropists
Photographer: Rae Images
Get in the picture! Contribute to or join our circle at New-Philanthropists.org.
Community Investment Network is approaching the start of its 10th anniversary conference in Durham, October 2-5. Leading participants in the three-day conference are shown above and listed below.
Read more at on BlackGivesBack.com: Community Investment Network Set To Mark A Decade of Impact Through Giving Circles. And then register to attend!
valaida 