Donors Ourselves Documentary and Book

Rural development philanthropy is not about
building the biggest endowment. It is about
combining the tools of community development
and philanthropy in a way that truly serves what
is best and most just for a community.

- Katharine Pearson Criss, "Donors Ourselves"

 

All communities, no matter how poor they might seem, have assets they can invest in themselves.

"Donors Ourselves" is the story of how people in two very different places – East Africa and East Tennessee – built on their assets of leadership, local knowledge, and capital to create a brighter future for their communities.

The half-hour video documentary captures the stories and experiences of communities in Kenya and Tennessee as they use simple but powerful philanthropic tools to develop on their own terms. The accompanying book of essays, "Donors Ourselves: Rural Development Philanthropy from East Tennessee to East Africa and Beyond," expands on these experiences to show how others can apply these principles to their own situations. The book also suggests how institutions like foundations can work effectively in partnership with communities.

"Donors Ourselves" is the creation of Rural Strategies' Community Philanthropy Initiative, a four-year project (2003-2007) supported by the Ford Foundation. The initiative documented rural development philanthropy as practiced by the East Tennessee Foundation and the Kenya Community Development Foundation.

In looking beyond international borders at the experiences of two unique regions, the project identifies key philanthropic principles that have informed and guided the growing movement of rural development philanthropy.