Get Fokus’d Productions partnered with the Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation to create a concise digital story spotlighting their participatory grantmaking work through the Community Experts Team. These are young adults (ages 16–30) with lived expertise who help shape real funding decisions in the communities they call home. Our video captures the story of how community experts collaborate over six months to design a grant opportunity from start to finish, setting priorities, reviewing proposals, and voting on awards, so viewers can clearly see youth voice and lived experience driving philanthropy.

Filmed around the Community Experts Fund application review retreat, the piece helps build awareness of the Foundation’s approach and impact, including the $225,000 allocated in 2024 for awards. Grounded in collaboration and informed by our lived-and-learned experience, we created a visual that honors participants’ perspectives while amplifying the Foundation’s commitment to community-led decision-making.

Directed by Aitina Fareed-Cooke | https://www.thecreativeartsstrategist.com/

Filmed & Edited by Alex Felix | Earthbound Films - https://www.earthboundfilms.net/