Bolder Giving - Give More, Risk more, Inspire more
Back to Story Library - Givers by Percentage Given - -
Anjhula Mya Bais Anjhula Mya Bais - at least 20%
By nature of what I do as a fashion model, as an ex MTV VJ (video jockey), and celebrity often in the spotlight, I feel the need to be a vocal role model. I need to let it be known that I am a bold giver so that I can encourage and inspire others to do the... More
Ari Weisbard & Rebecca Ennen Ari Weisbard & Rebecca Ennen - at least 20%
Rebecca: My earliest memories of giving were participating in the Walk for Hunger and the AIDS Walk in Boston with my mother. The fundraising goals that we set each year felt tangible and real. I’d imagine hungry kids eating meals that I... More
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield - at least 20%
When we started Ben and Jerry’s in 1978 we had no business experience and no money, so we sure weren’t thinking about philanthropy. We were worried about making the business successful. We had both failed at other things we had tried: Ben at being... More
Brent Kessel Brent Kessel - at least 20%
Outraged by apartheid in South Africa, my parents decided we had to leave our homeland when I was just a child. We were white, and despite volunteering in the townships and providing fair-paying jobs to blacks in our family business, we could not effect... More
Brian Kaminer Brian Kaminer - at least 20%
After working 17 years in the financial markets, I began to realize a difference between trading value (what I was doing) versus creating value. Creating value represented the opportunity to make an improvement and provide a long-term benefit to this world... More
Brickson Diamond Brickson Diamond - at least 20%
I focus my giving on organizations and efforts that increase access. This means opening pathways to positions of power for people from communities that are traditionally excluded. As a gay, black man who grew up in Atlanta, Georgia during the second or... More
Burcu Mirza Burcu Mirza - at least 20%
Like virtue, philanthropy is a habit. Reflecting back on my own life, I can now see that my own habit stemmed from the positive influence of outstanding philanthropists around me. Therefore, the story of “my giving” is also their story. I was... More
Cathie Hartnett Cathie Hartnett - at least 20%
When I was twenty-five, I inherited a lot of money. I’m not sure exactly how much, but I know it would be worth millions today. I wasn’t given any direction in how to use it. I was literally handed an envelope filled with stock certificates.... More
Chimu Chimu - at least 20%
I discovered my life’s special purpose by stumbling upon it. This journey led me to open my heart and wallet to help those less fortunate by founding the Inti Raymi Fund and Adrenaline Philanthropy. In 1992, you would have found me in a suit and tie,... More
Gerard Senehi Gerard Senehi - at least 20%
My life, philanthropy, work as an entertainer, and non-profit pursuit have been guided by the belief that the future is in our hands and thus open to our influence, that we have the power to impact culture with important implications for ourselves, our... More
Helen LaKelly Hunt Helen LaKelly Hunt - at least 20%
It is a powerful thing, watching people come together to move the needle toward greater justice; even more so to participate. When I have done so, faith has always played a part. I call myself a follower of Jesus Christ. No one cared more for the poor than... More
Ian Fuller Ian Fuller - at least 20%
I never used the word philanthropy, but I grew up with its finest traditions disguised in plain sight as Black culture. My grandfather was the abstract impressionist painter Norman Lewis, and his legacy to our family has many complexities, shaping my... More
Jason Franklin Jason Franklin - at least 20%
I was just 14 years old when I had my first success as a community organizer. Angry about major proposed cuts to public education in state, I co-founded a student organizing effort to “save the Oregon school system.” I was thrilled as we grew... More
Jeff Zinsmeyer Jeff Zinsmeyer - at least 20%
A funny thing happened on the way to creating a foundation. While working at the Center for Community Change, my good lawyer friend Tom Asher called. He was completing IRS paperwork to setup my new foundation, but we had no name. To complete the form, all... More
Jessan Hutchison-Quillian Jessan Hutchison-Quillian - at least 20%
In 2007, at 20 years old, I got my first job as an engineer. When I opened the offer letter from Google, I realized that my starting salary of over $100,000 would be more than anyone I’d ever been close to had made. I knew for sure that I didn’t... More
Joel Solomon Joel Solomon - at least 20%
I grew up in a liberal Jewish household in Chattanooga, Tennessee. My father, also Joel Solomon, was a pioneer and social innovator in his time. As a Jewish man dealing with the prejudices of the South in the fifties and sixties, the local business world... More
Joyce and Joe Ybarra Joyce and Joe Ybarra - at least 20%
Joyce: Joe and I both grew up in West Covina, a city in Los Angeles County that is heavily Mexican-American and Filipino-American. I am Filipina and Joe is Mexican-American. Both of us come from families with high expectations for their kids; my parents... More
Kristin Hull Kristin Hull - at least 20%
For 25 years, when people ask me what I do, I have always answered, “I am an educator.” Lately, I have started to introduce myself as an entrepreneur. I realize that I have a lifetime of experience with start- ups. Both of my parents are... More
Magdaleno “Leno” Rose-Avila Magdaleno “Leno” Rose-Avila - at least 20%
My name is Leno and I have a PhD. It stands for Public Highway Demonstrations and it comes from hard lessons through the University of Street Smarts. When I was 11, I worked in the onion fields of southeast Colorado. As the son of immigrant parents with... More
Mark Reed Mark Reed - at least 20%
“Are you kiddin me? You haven’t been to jail and none of your family’s on crack?” Damien, a mouthy, bright fourteen year old wanted to know who I was, where I came from, and why I was there. It was tougher to prove myself to street... More
Mary Nemetz Mary Nemetz - at least 20%
It all started with an “aha” moment. I remember it as if it was yesterday, I was volunteering at a homeless shelter when a man came up to me and said: “Thank you so very much for being here…for helping me!” His thanks gave me a... More
Nancy Thurston Nancy Thurston - at least 20%
Paradox runs through the middle of my life, especially as I work with wealth. My roots lie deep in West Texas natural gas fields, yet I am committed to sustainable, resources. I was born with white skin and worked for fifteen years as a physical therapist but... More
Paula and Barry Litt Paula and Barry Litt - at least 20%
Political activism for social justice has always been an important part of our life. We both became radicals while we were still in high school in the 1960’s and were deeply involved in the civil rights and anti-war movements. After we married, we... More
Philippe Cousteau Philippe Cousteau - at least 20%
People assume that fame and fortune came easily to me because my grandfather was Jacques Cousteau, but nothing could be further from the truth. My father died before I was born and my sister and I inherited very little except our mother’s indomitable... More
Rose Feerick Rose Feerick - at least 20%
God has a wonderful sense of humor! For much of my adult life I have been engaging with money as a spiritual practice, trying to live simply and working for social justice. Recently, my teenage sons and I needed to relocate to one of the most affluent... More
Roxanne Meshar Roxanne Meshar - at least 20%
Out of the blue a friend said to me, “Roxanne, why have you never thought of studying theology?” Neither she nor I had any idea what possessed her to say that, but it was it was like getting hit over the head with a 2x4. I immediately knew this... More
Russell Roybal Russell Roybal - at least 20%
I didn't get to where I am today by myself. I am the product of an extended family, raised by the proverbial “village.” I grew up sharing as a family norm. We didn’t have a lot growing up, but we had more than others and we shared what we... More
Tom & Sonya Campion Tom & Sonya Campion - at least 20%
Tom: I’ve been in retail for decades and started our company Zumiez in 1978. We sell fun-- surf, skate, snowboarding and action sports to teenagers, ages 12-18--you know, a group that typically has problems with authority. I’m really... More
Tom Van Dyck Tom Van Dyck - at least 20%
I’m a child of corporate America. My stepdad worked at Gillette, Schick, started his own company and finally became the CEO of Cuisinart. Our family experienced the best and the worst of corporate culture: ambition, hard work & upward mobility,... More
Wendy Chang Wendy Chang - at least 20%
Justice is realized through moments in time – something you must see or experience to understand. There are two defining moments in my life that have shaped my view of social justice. When I was just about 5 years old, my family emigrated from... More
 
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