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We were thrilled to see yesterday’s issue of The New York Times Magazine, all about the things we love—social entrepreneurship, microfinance, philanthropy and how to change the world by giving.

The magazine is full of amazing articles about what we here at Echoing Green are passionate about. In “What Makes People Give?,” David Leonhardt tracks philanthropic trends and notes how social scientists are becoming more interested in the field due to its rising popularity. Another article, “How Many Billionaires Does It Take to Fix a School System?,” describes how a new generation of donors can influence American schools through a discussion between five education experts (including Joel I. Klein, chancellor of the New York City school system and recent Be Bold Awardee and Vaness Kirsch, president of New Profit and former Echoing Green Fellow).

Yet our favorite section is the “Faces of Social Entrepreneurship” photo journal, which chronicles how four young pioneers are striving to change the world. This section features 2007 Echoing Green Fellows Michael Gainer and Socheata Poeuv! Michael's piece focuses on how he hires youth in Buffalo to help collect materials, noting that his organization “provides something tangible and meaningful for them to do in their community, so that now they’re invested in something. They have something they’re proud of, something that gives them some sense of self-worth.’’ Socheata discusses her organization Khmer Legacies, by talking about her driving motivation: ‘‘You’ve got to change the silence that surrounds this, and the way that Cambodian parents talk to their children and children talk to their parents. There really is a threat of this culture being completely invisible if people don’t step forward to remember and distinguish it.’’

So, if you haven’t seen this issue of The New York Times Magazine, you can check it out at nytimes.com or you can go directly to the “Faces of Social Entrepreneurship” slideshow here.