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“Photography has a special capacity to serve the public interest,” Media Impact Funders Executive Director Vince Stehle told attendees at the March 5 Media Impact Focus event, AIM and Shoot. And who could imagine a better venue to explore this topic than the Skylight Studios of the Annenberg Space for Photography? Read More

On March 5 we continued the discussion of cutting-edge impact analysis methods we began last November, and added documentary photography to the list of topics covered. Read the storify from the day. We heard from leading funders and media makers from the National Geographic Society, Open Society Foundations, Participant Media, and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, among others, to learn how philanthropically funded productions are transforming audiences and sparking social change. _______________ 9:00 — Introduction and Welcome Vince Stehle, Executive Director, Media Impact Funders Leonard Aube, Executive Director, Annenberg Foundation    9:10 — Documentary Impact in Action Chad Boettcher, Executive Vice President, Social Action and Advocacy, Participant Media Caty Borum Chattoo, Public Affairs Strategist, Participant Media and Creative Director, Center for Media & Social Impact; Executive in Residence, American University Shaun MacGillivray, Producer, To the Arctic Jim Miller, Executive Director, Brave New Films We heard how leading documentary producers are demonstrating the impact of their films. Boettcher demoed the Participant Index, a national survey panel tracking how media spurs action. MacGillivray revealed how his spectacular IMAX journey into one of the planet’s last untouched regions has rallied more than a million viewers to call… Read More

Read our Storify covering our events in Chicago. We kicked off our Chicago visit with a celebration of the Henry Hampton Award winning film, DETROPIA,  featuring filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, with award presentation by director Ric Roman Waugh (Snitch). DETROPIA is a requiem for the death and rebirth of a great American city and explores resilience, hope, anger and change against the backdrop of staggering job and populations losses; a dramatic “downsizing” of an American city; and cuts to basic services. Following the award we had a lively discussion with the filmmakers, J. Mikel Ellcessor, General Manager of WDET, Rahsaan Harris, Executive Director of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, moderated by Cara Mertes, Director of the Sundance Documentary Film Program. Read More

Media Impact Funders, The Atlantic Philanthropies and Philanthropy New York convened a funder gathering and livestream to discuss the acclaimed Ken Burns Film, The Central Park Five, on June 15, 2013. Read More