Independent Television Service

See our Gifts
Overview

Everyone deserves a public voice.

ITVS funds and presents award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web and the Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens on PBS.

Founded through an historic act of Congress to bring greater diversity to public television, ITVS seeks to expand cultural and global awareness and civic participation as it brings new voices into the public discourse.

Mission

We bring diversity to democracy.

ITVS brings to public television high-quality programs by a diverse body of filmmakers. ITVS programs take creative risks, explore complex issues, and express points of view seldom seen on television. ITVS programs serve the needs of underrepresented communities, particularly minorities and children.

Program

Television as a force for change and hope.

Since 1991, ITVS has brought over 600 programs to American and international audiences, including groundbreaking series like The Farmer’s Wife and Country Boys, and Academy Award-nominated documentaries like The Weather Underground, Promises and Street Fight. ITVS breaks down barriers between filmmakers and television audiences—providing funding and production management services; navigating the labyrinthine public television system; and directing publicity, web and outreach campaigns that mobilize audiences to action.

ITVS Community, ITVS’s national community and civic engagement program, leverages the unique and timely content of award-winning independent films to build stronger connections among organizations, local communities and public television stations. By hosting screenings and panels, providing classroom materials, discussion guides, and online tools, ITVS Community makes public broadcasting into a powerful resource for those working on important social issues, or looking to learn more about them from a trusted source.

ITVS Community’s efforts reflect the diversity of ITVS-funded programs. From immigrant communities to Vietnam War veterans, family farmers to urban spoken word artists, from nursing home residents to children with cancer, ITVS Community ensures that ITVS’s diverse slate of programming reaches truly diverse audiences.

Impact

We inspire. In primetime and beyond.

What if a television program could change what people knew and felt about each other—millions of people? Each year, our programs open doors into the lives of strangers, inspiring people to think and talk about the issues that divide us. Through ITVS Community, our programs reach into communities with hundreds of screenings in town halls and civic centers, and into classrooms where they expand students’ horizons. Organizations and community partners—representing millions of members—depend on us to help create real conversations about race, class, difference and our world’s greatest challenges.

Countries

United States

Contact

651 Brannan Street, Suite 410
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: (415) 356-8383
www.itvs.org
EIN: 52-1654276


Community

Promote Dialogue

One community event

Independent Television Service

Regular price $250.00

Your gift will support the promotion and hosting of a community screening, bringing together community leaders, citizens and organizational partners.


Help Local Stations

Community programs

Independent Television Service

Regular price $100.00

Your gift will provide a local PBS station with multiple DVD copies of an ITVS program, discussion guides, educational materials, and other support for use in their local civic meetings.


Support Organizing

Tools for a nonprofit

Independent Television Service

Regular price $50.00

Your gift will supply a nonprofit organization with a full-length DVD version of an ITVS program and accompanying discussion guide and organizing tools.


Engage A Classroom

Teaching tools

Independent Television Service

Regular price $25.00

Your gift will supply a classroom teacher with an educational packet, including a discussion guide, suggested classroom activities and a 10-minute video selection of an ITVS program.