For nearly 15 years, Tyrone McKinley Freeman worked as a professional fundraiser for nonprofit organizations in community economic development, youth and family social services, and higher education. He also served as the associate director of The Fund Raising School during which time he developed continuing education curricula, an online professional development certificate, and trained nonprofit professionals across the U.S. and in Africa, Asia and Europe. His writings on fundraising have appeared in Advancing Philanthropy, the International Journal for Educational Advancement, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He has been a featured speaker at CASE conferences, and has appeared at the AFP International Conference on Fundraising.

As a professor and scholar, Tyrone McKinley Freeman is part of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in Indianapolis, the world’s first school dedicated solely to the study and teaching of philanthropy. In this role, Tyrone directs the undergraduate B.A. degree program in philanthropic studies, which prepares graduates for careers in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. He has recognized expertise in High-Impact Practices in undergraduate education, including the use of ePortfolios and capstones in philanthropy education. He also teaches in the graduate master’s program.

The pictures below provide a visual journey through the book-writing process. While doing the research and writing, Tyrone regularly presented his work at academic and professional conferences in philanthropy, history, and fundraising. He presented before giving circles, grantmakers and other community groups as he deciphered Madam Walker’s gospel of giving. He presented on panels with leading historians to explore Madam Walker’s legacy, and he gave back to the community by serving on the Indiana Historical Society’s advisory board for a 1,500 sq. ft. interactive exhibit about Madam Walker. He helped to train actors for their roles in portraying Walker and her staff in the exhibit, and enjoyed building wonderful relationships with archivists around the country who aided his research. This journey has taken him coast to coast from Stanford to Yale, from Chicago to Austin, TX. Along the way, he’s met wonderful people and seen firsthand how Madam Walker’s legacy of generosity is still alive and well 100+ years later.

For nearly 15 years, Tyrone McKinley Freeman worked as a professional fundraiser for nonprofit organizations in community economic development, youth and family social services, and higher education. He also served as the associate director of The Fund Raising School during which time he developed continuing education curricula, an online professional development certificate, and trained nonprofit professionals across the U.S. and in Africa, Asia and Europe. His writings on fundraising have appeared in Advancing Philanthropy, the International Journal for Educational Advancement, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He has been a featured speaker at CASE conferences, and has appeared at the AFP International Conference on Fundraising.

As a professor and scholar, Tyrone McKinley Freeman is part of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in Indianapolis, the world’s first school dedicated solely to the study and teaching of philanthropy. In this role, Tyrone directs the undergraduate B.A. degree program in philanthropic studies, which prepares graduates for careers in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. He has recognized expertise in High-Impact Practices in undergraduate education, including the use of ePortfolios and capstones in philanthropy education. He also teaches in the graduate master’s program.

The pictures below provide a visual journey through the book-writing process. While doing the research and writing, Tyrone regularly presented his work at academic and professional conferences in philanthropy, history, and fundraising. He presented before giving circles, grantmakers and other community groups as he deciphered Madam Walker’s gospel of giving. He presented on panels with leading historians to explore Madam Walker’s legacy, and he gave back to the community by serving on the Indiana Historical Society’s advisory board for a 1,500 sq. ft. interactive exhibit about Madam Walker. He helped to train actors for their roles in portraying Walker and her staff in the exhibit, and enjoyed building wonderful relationships with archivists around the country who aided his research. This journey has taken him coast to coast from Stanford to Yale, from Chicago to Austin, TX. Along the way, he’s met wonderful people and seen firsthand how Madam Walker’s legacy of generosity is still alive and well 100+ years later.

This is no simple story of Madam Walker’s charitable giving.

“Instead, by spanning the course of Walker’s remarkable life from the daughter of enslaved parents to beauty culture mogul, Tyrone McKinley Freeman’s brilliant and impeccably researched book demonstrates that wealth did not drive Walker to give, but that she was the embodiment of a much longer, though often hidden, tradition of black philanthropy. This book will forever change the way we understand Walker’s importance and provides a much needed context for contemporary calls for economic justice.”

Tiffany Gill, Associate Professor of History, Rutgers University

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