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In this episode we talk to Asha Curran, CEO of GivingTuesday, about the evolution of Giving Tuesday from its origins as a US-based giving day to its current incarnation as a global generosity movement operating in over 100 countries worldwide; and what she has learned about the power of everyday acts of giving. Including:

• How has GivingTuesday evolved since its inception over a decade ago?
• What are the key aims of the organisation today?
• How important does the actual Giving Tuesday day itself remain? What does success look like on the day?
• What is the role of the GT Data Commons? 
• Is there a decline in generosity in the US (and other countries), or is giving just evolving into new forms?
• Can emphasising the impact of small acts of generosity give people a sense of agency at a time when they might otherwise feel powerless in the face of major challenges facing our world? 
• Does collective giving build social capital? 
• Can mass giving movements help to counter concerns about the potentially anti-democratic impact of big money philanthropy?
• Have the Trump administration’s attacks on philanthropy and nonprofits had any impact on GivingTuesday as an organisation and on its mission?
• What lessons should the nonprofit sector should be taking from populist attacks?

FURTHER READING:

• Giving Tuesday
• Giving Tuesday Data Commons
• Asha's 2023 SSIR article "The Case for Effusive Altruism"
• BBC article from 2022, "Giving Tuesday: How day for 'radical generosity' went global"
• 2021 event "Rewriting the Rules of Giving", moderated by Rhodri, featuring Asha, Lucy Bernholz and Edgar Villanueva.
• WPM articles, "Language Barriers: is the way we talk about philanthropy and civil society holding us back?" and "Why Are We So Bad at Measuring Giving and Why Does It Matter?"
• Philanthropisms podcast episodes with Pamala Wiepking, Sara Lomelin and Lucy Bernholz.