"Youth philanthropy: A little can yield a lot" (Philanthropy Journal)

Most folks know of Margaret Mead's quote "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world..." It's a saying that we've heard dozens of times. But how many us have actually had an opportunity to see this in action - to observe in real-time the power of a collective spark catch fire?

Fortunately, in North Carolina, we all have the opportunity to witness this act of community transformation through a collaborated action - by observing and learning from some of the most unassuming and non-traditional of philanthropists. They may not be the most financially established "donor," or the most resourced or politically connected "giver." But they have an insight on how to change their neighborhoods, schools and communities that is unprecedented, undeniable and unbridled.

They're the experts of addressing the issues facing youth in their communities. They've lived firsthand the challenges and obstacles that come during these trying times. And like Margaret Mead, they believe in the power of change via action.

They're as young as 14 and as old as 19, and they are changing their communities in real-time.

North Carolina is currently engaged in a powerful and unprecedented movement of youth giving through the North Carolina Youth Giving Network. Through an intricate web of over public and private funders (such as the North Carolina Community Foundation), partners (like NCGives), and youth serving agencies (like N.C. Communities In Schools), the Youth Giving Network has engaged over 900 high-school-aged students in giving over 70,000 hours of service and granting over $300,000 in community funds since 2005.

And in turn, they're turning heads in their communities.

This spring alone, 13 different youth philanthropy sites implemented a youth-conducted grantmaking process that provided young people with the direct opportunity to review and select the most promising and impactful social-change projects affecting their communities...

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"Unemployed D.C. man giving money away to strangers to help foster kindness" (The Washington Post)

The guy behind the meat counter is looking at Reed Sandridge kind of strangely. Giving away $10 every day to a stranger -- an idea Sandridge had soon after he was laid off from his job at a Washington nonprofit group last fall -- isn't as easy as it sounds.

Carlos Canales, a 28-year-old butcher at Eastern Market, is hesitant to take the money. "What do I have to do?" he asks.

No strings, no hook. Sandridge, 36, a businessman-turned-shoe-leather philanthropist, just wants to help. His mom, the daughter of a coal miner whom he remembers most for her kindness, always told him that when you're going through tough times, that's when you most need to give back.

So not long after he was laid off, on the third anniversary of his mom's death, he started his "year of giving," documenting each $10 gift in a small black notebook and then blogging about the people he meets. By Day 94, he had given away almost $1,000, handing out money in blizzards, in rainstorms, on the sunniest of days.

He gave $10 to a guy playing the trumpet outside Verizon Center, the president of a brewery, someone dressed up as the Statue of Liberty, a hard-drinking PhD, a man who held up a basketball to block helicopters overhead from eavesdropping on their conversation, the curator of a small museum and a whole lot of homeless people...

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