Video Clip and Discussion Guide: The board of directors is the decision-making group responsible for maintaining the mission of a nonprofit organization. It is a volunteer position in which board members develop a network and career and life skills. The organization benefits from the different skills of the members of the board (trustees).
Video Clip and Discussion Guide: The government cannot and will not take care of all of society's needs. In all countries, there is a balance of what needs are addressed by government, by business, and by philanthropy (or the nonprofit sector). In the U.S. where the government is relatively small and limited, the nonprofit sector addresses many needs where there are gaps between government and business. Because of the good philanthropy does for all, there are tax benefits for nonprofits and for people who donate to philanthropy.
Video Clip and Discussion Guide: An important part of being in a community is interdependence. The members of any community share ideas and responsibilities for maintaining and improving the community. This film clip shows two examples of communities forming through collaboration, or collective action, around an idea for improvement.
Video Clip and Discussion Guide: There are more than 38,000 family foundations across the United States. Family foundations are established in order for individuals to share their wealth and address an issue they care about. The founders' children and grandchildren sit down together for years to carry on the giving. This video shares how they continue and adapt the founders' vision.
Video Clip and Discussion Guide: This two-minute video clip shares the stories of giving blood as an act of philanthropy. Why do people give blood, and how does it impact society?
Through a story in which a child inspires her neighborhood to improve a vacant lot, young people recognize that they can have a positive impact on others. They brainstorm a philanthropic project to benefit the school or larger community.
Inspired by a children’s story about a neighborhood working together to improve the appearance of a vacant lot, young people decide how they will participate in a community project to beautify their community and becoming stewards of the earth.
In this lesson, young people create story scripts from the research and facts collected in Lesson One: Digging Up the Facts. The scripts include setting, one character per child, problem, solution, and a beginning, middle and end. Young people edit and...
Young people make puppets out of recycled materials. They use their creativity to come up with a movable puppet that represents a character in their puppet play.
Young people perform their puppet plays in order to teach others about environmental issues. They reflect on this project by writing an answer to some essential questions of the unit: What does it mean to be a philanthropist? What does it mean to be an environmentalist?
