Global Lives Project
Global Lives Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a video library of continuous, unedited 24-hour footage documenting daily lives across 17 countries, serving K-12 schools, higher education, and museums via free online access, exhibits, and Common Core-aligned curriculum.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Global Lives Project does
Global Lives Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by David Evan Harris in San Francisco, operating a video library of life experience built on a distinctive documentary methodology. The core product is a curated collection of continuous, unedited 24-hour footage documenting the daily lives of 20 individuals across 17 countries, totaling 240 hours of raw video with no narrative intervention or director interpretation. The platform is built on a volunteer-driven production network of more than 1,000 collaborators spanning filmmakers, translators, and crew, supported by a lean core staff of 3 (Founder/Executive Director, Webmaster, Lead Project Manager). Content is distributed under Creative Commons licenses via the globallives.org website, archive.org downloads, Amazon, and physical flash media drives.
The product portfolio extends beyond the core video library to include the Unheard Stories curriculum (a 60-page empathy-based program co-developed with Stanford Graduate School of Education and aligned to Common Core Standards for middle school students), multi-screen immersive museum and school exhibit installations, the Lives in Transit sub-series on transportation workers, and professional development workshops for educators. Distribution channels span free online streaming, paid curriculum sales, museum exhibit hosting, and educator training delivered at institutions including Smithsonian, UC Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, United Nations University, Apple, Google, and Adobe. Marketing combines content-driven website/social media, an email newsletter, crowdfunding campaigns (notably a 2013 Kickstarter exceeding its $25,000 goal), and event-based exhibit activations.
The business model is mission-driven rather than commercial. Revenue consists of individual donations, foundation and government grants (from the National Endowment for the Arts, Adobe Foundation, The Christensen Fund, and Burwan Education Foundation), and modest product sales (printed curriculum via Amazon and flash drive segments). Free PDF curriculum access and Creative Commons licensing deliberately suppress direct monetization in favor of educational reach. The website currently displays an 'archived status' notice with submission forms disabled, indicating the organization has shifted from active production to repository maintenance.
Global Lives Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Global Lives Project
- Legal name
- Global Lives Project
- Website
- https://globallives.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Global Lives Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a video library of continuous, unedited 24-hour footage documenting daily lives across 17 countries, serving K-12 schools, higher education, and museums via free online access, exhibits, and Common Core-aligned curriculum.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Global Lives Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Documentary Media and Educational Content
- NAICS
- Libraries and Archives (51921), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Live-Action International/Co-Production & Service Production (MPADABAG)
Keywords
Where Global Lives Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Global Lives Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting the nonprofit mission of fostering global empathy through documentary storytelling
- Foundation and Government Grants: Funding from presenting sponsors including National Endowment for the Arts, Adobe Foundation, The Christensen Fund, and other grant-making organizations
- Curriculum Sales: Sale of Unheard Stories curriculum materials - available as free PDF download or purchased spiral-bound printed version from Amazon
- Flash Media Drive Sales: Segments of video collection available for purchase on flash drives for offline classroom viewing
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | One-time | Free PDF Curriculum Download |
| One time/ perpetual license | One-time | Printed Curriculum - Amazon |
| Unit Pricing | One-time | Flash Media Drives |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Donation-Based Exhibit Support |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Global Lives Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Global Lives Project is a nonprofit video library that produces and distributes 24-hour, unedited documentary footage capturing the daily lives of 20 individuals from 17 countries. The collection is freely accessible online, accompanied by an empathy-based K-12 curriculum, multi-screen immersive exhibit installations for schools and museums, and a curated "Lives in Transit" sub-series focused on transportation workers.
Product overview
Global Lives Project is a nonprofit initiative that operates as a video library of life experience. The core offering is an online collection of 24-hour, unedited documentary footage documenting the daily lives of individuals from diverse cultures across 17 countries. The product portfolio includes the core video collection platform, an educational curriculum called 'Unheard Stories' developed with Stanford Graduate School of Education, museum exhibit installations featuring immersive multi-screen displays, and the 'Lives in Transit' curated sub-series focused on transportation workers. The organization also offers professional development workshops for educators integrating the video content into classrooms. All content is distributed under Creative Commons licenses.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Lives in Transit: A curated series documenting 24-hour routines of transportation workers around the world, capturing 240 hours of footage of 10 individuals instrumental in moving people and goods.
Products and services
- Online Video Collection A curated collection of 24-hour, day-in-the-life, raw, unedited documentary footage featuring 20 individuals from 17 countries. The uncut format presents life experiences without narrative interpretation, accessible free online via the Global Lives website.
- Unheard Stories Curriculum A 60-page empathy-based curriculum developed in partnership with Stanford Graduate School of Education for middle school students, utilizing the Global Lives video collection for storytelling activities. Available as a free PDF download or as a printed spiral-bound version for purchase on Amazon.
- Museum Exhibit Installation Multi-screen, immersive video installations featuring 240 hours of footage presented in 24-hour day-in-the-life segments, custom-configured for galleries, museums, schools, and cultural spaces worldwide.
- Lives in Transit Series A curated sub-series of ten 24-hour films documenting transportation workers globally, capturing the routines and rituals of workers who move people and goods. Produced with support from a National Endowment for the Arts matching grant.
- Professional Development Workshops Workshops for teachers covering globalization, cross-cultural awareness, empathy, community engagement, and media literacy, designed around the Global Lives video collection for classroom integration.
Quantifiable outcome
- 75 respondents at Palo Alto High School showed measurable impacts on cross-cultural understanding after experiencing Global Lives exhibit and Unheard Stories Curriculum
Companies that use Global Lives Project
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Global Lives Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Global Lives Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF)corePartner organization supporting the Global Lives Project through arts and cultural initiatives
- DickermanminorPartner organization supporting Global Lives Project
- DotsubcoreSubtitling platform used for translating videos into multiple languages, enabling global accessibility of content
- Facing History and OurselvescoreEducational nonprofit partner focused on historical and civic education, aligned with Global Lives' mission
- Institute for the FuturecoreResearch organization where David Harris serves as Research Director; collaborative research and strategic partnership
- MethodcoreDesign firm that designed the new website and provided design consultation for the organization
- O'MelvenyminorLegal counsel providing counsel through attorney Elizabeth Miles
- Museu da PessoacoreMuseum of the Person in São Paulo; partner in documentary methodology sharing and cultural exchange
- Orrick, Herrington & SutcliffeminorLaw firm providing legal counsel, including Elizabeth Miles who drafted Creative Commons license proposal
- San Francisco Film SocietycorePartner in filmmaker education programs including Filmmaker in the Classroom initiative
- Temple University Japan CampusminorEducational institution in Japan where student producers participated in Global Lives shoots
- United Nations UniversitycoreAcademic partner for research and educational initiatives related to global understanding
- UprintingminorPrinting services partner for educational materials and curriculum production
- Long Now FoundationminorOrganization focused on long-term thinking; collaborative partner in cultural documentation efforts
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Global Lives Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Humans of New York: Humans of New York is a photo and video documentary project that captures candid portraits and stories of individuals across cultures and geographies — directly comparable to Global Lives in its people-centered, cross-cultural storytelling format and community-led content engine.
- Museu da Pessoa: Museu da Pessoa is a São Paulo-based Museum of the Person that collects and exhibits personal life stories — directly comparable to Global Lives as a people-centered, life-story archive and confirmed strategic partner on documentary methodology.
- The Moth: The Moth is a nonprofit storytelling organization that curates true first-person stories into live events, podcasts, and educational programs — comparable to Global Lives as a mission-driven nonprofit that uses authentic, unfiltered personal narrative for cultural connection.
- StoryCorps: StoryCorps is a U.S. nonprofit that records, preserves, and shares oral histories of everyday people, operating a large audio/video archive hosted by the Library of Congress — directly comparable to Global Lives as a people-centered, nonprofit archive focused on cross-cultural understanding.
- Magnum Photos: Magnum Photos is a photographers' cooperative with a globally recognized archive of documentary photography — comparable to Global Lives as an internationally curated, mission-driven visual archive with deep cultural-education reach.
- WITNESS: WITNESS is a nonprofit that equips people to use video for human rights storytelling, with a global video archive and training programs — closely comparable to Global Lives' video documentation methodology and mission-driven distribution model.
- Facing History and Ourselves: Facing History and Ourselves is an educational nonprofit that provides classroom resources on historical, civic, and cross-cultural empathy — directly comparable to Global Lives' Unheard Stories curriculum and a confirmed strategic partner, serving the same K-12 empathy/global-citizenship use case.
Broad incumbents
- PBS (Public Broadcasting Service): PBS is a U.S. public media organization that produces and distributes educational documentaries and runs PBS LearningMedia for classrooms — a broad incumbent that competes for the same educator and donor mindshare as Global Lives.
- National Film Board of Canada: The NFB is a public-sector producer and free-access archive of thousands of documentary and animated films — a broader incumbent that overlaps Global Lives in distributing nonprofit documentary video globally for educational and cultural impact.
- National Geographic Society: National Geographic operates a large nonprofit documentary media operation spanning print, film, and education programs — a broad incumbent comparable to Global Lives in producing globally focused, education-aligned documentary content.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Global Lives Project social profiles
Digital presenceGlobal Lives Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Global Lives Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Global Lives Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Global Lives Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Global Lives Project
What does Global Lives Project do?
Global Lives Project is a nonprofit video library that produces and distributes 24-hour, unedited documentary footage capturing the daily lives of 20 individuals from 17 countries. The collection is freely accessible online, accompanied by an empathy-based K-12 curriculum, multi-screen immersive exhibit installations for schools and museums, and a curated "Lives in Transit" sub-series focused on transportation workers.
Is Global Lives Project a public or private company?
Global Lives Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Global Lives Project founded?
Global Lives Project was founded in 2002. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Global Lives Project based?
Global Lives Project is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Global Lives Project make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are foundation and Government Grants, curriculum Sales and flash Media Drive Sales.
Who are Global Lives Project's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Humans of New York, Museu da Pessoa, The Moth, StoryCorps, Magnum Photos, WITNESS and Facing History and Ourselves. Broad incumbents are PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), National Film Board of Canada and National Geographic Society.
Does Global Lives Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for Global Lives Project.
What industry is Global Lives Project in?
Global Lives Project's product category is Nonprofit Documentary Media and Educational Content. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADABAG, Live-Action International/Co-Production & Service Production. Its NAICS code is 51921.