Music That Gives Back; Kindness You Can Hear
From Pork Pond Gazette by Mike Rathbun
April 23, 2026 · 29 min
About this episode
The episode features Dave Lewis discussing his project Playing To Pitch In, which channels streaming royalties to charities.
Send us Fan Mail What if generosity were as simple as pressing play? We sit down with Dave Lewis, a San Diego accountant and solo pianist who built Playing To Pitch In, a project that routes 100% of streaming royalties directly to six vetted charities. No tip jars, no detours—just music funding impact through automated splits to organizations like the Against Malaria Foundation, Helen Keller International, Best The Book Bus, a local food bank, the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, and disaster relief groups. Dave walks us through the moment that sparked it all—discovering “earning to give” during 2020—and how he engineered a transparent system where artists and listeners collaborate. We dig into the why behind his charity choices, leaning on GiveWell research for high-impact outcomes: bed nets that prevent malaria, vitamin A supplements that save sight and lives, and literacy programs that build home libraries and confidence. Dave shares a moving story from Tampa, where he helped children pick books right off the bus, and then zooms out with the “drowning child” thought experiment to reframe distance and duty: saving a life far away is no less urgent than saving one next…
People in this episode
Host: Mike Rathbun
Guest: Dave Lewis
Topics covered
- charity
- music
- generosity
- streaming royalties
- impact
- community
- philanthropy
Keywords
- music funding
- charity
- streaming
- philanthropy
- impact
- generosity
- community
- piano
- GiveWell
- literacy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Playing To Pitch In, Against Malaria Foundation, Helen Keller International, Best The Book Bus, National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, disaster relief groups
Places: San Diego, Tampa
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- Kindness On Cloudy Days · May 14, 2026 · 35 min
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