3 minute read
Introduction
Radical Generosity and our Collective Future
These are, as we will be reminded for decades to come, unprecedented times. We are confronting, and will continue to confront, global crises that stress our institutions, systems and communities, as they also give birth to movements for change. Even after the pandemic wanes, we will be left with economic hardship, systemic inequities, assaults on democratic values and a catastrophic climate emergency. We will also be left with challenges caused by the pandemic as well as challenges that were there long before. Moreover, we will be left with an enormous opportunity: to rebuild with generosityand the “love of humanity” as the driving force behind all of our actions. Working within the multi-layered and multifaceted communities that make up the global generosity movement that GivingTuesday has become, our globally distributed team is privileged to be able to witness humanity at its very finest on a daily basis : neighbor helping neighbor and stranger helping stranger, thereby demonstrating even in the darkest moments—especially in those moments—the kind of solidarity and caring that transcends and transforms fear and isolation. With acts of giving large and small, millions of people have shown that our better angels can indeed have the loudest voices, and that the rewards of listening to them are great. The GivingTuesday community has affirmed our vision of a world transformed by the recognition of our shared humanity. 2020 tested the limits of our organization and movement while challenging us to break through to unleash the power of radical generosity in new and profound ways. We addressed the multiple, devastating impacts of COVID-19 through #GivingTuesdayNow. We launched the Starling Collective to uplift and resource creative and passionate grassroots leaders who are advancing cultures of generosity in their communities. We concluded 2020 with the most successful GivingTuesday in our movement’s history, with people donating nearly $2.5B in one day in the US alone on top of the tidal wave of generosity expressed in non-monetary ways. Now, it’s time to look collectively to the future. We have a remarkable nine years behind us, and we know, as we approach our tenth anniversary in 2022, that we have much more to accomplish.
Looking ahead, we are clear on the milestones that matter:
• Scale the first global social sector Data Commons, working collaboratively to understand and unleash generosity • Reach 125+ country movements, with an emphasis on the Global South and countries in crisis
• Enlist 1,000+ community and cause, identity, and culture-based campaigns and coalitions
in the US and more around the world, with an emphasis on uplifting proximate leadership, reaching and partnering with grassroots activists and organizers lacking traditional access to power and resources
• Engage and connect the next generation of givers:
hundreds of thousands of young people around the world working to improve their communities and the world through #GivingTuesdaySpark
• Drive $10B in annual giving
(in the US) and unlock exponentially more giving worldwide
Our last strategic plan, completed in 2018, outlined our goal of establishing GivingTuesday as an independent 501(c)(3) organization after our spin-out as a program of the 92nd Street Y, while pursuing the work of the movement without pause—supporting and amplifying the work of our leadership networks, continuing to innovate and incubate— and we have achieved those goals and more. We committed to staying agile, and 2020 taught us how valuable that commitment was. The world changed, and we pivoted to respond. We know that radical generosity—the act of giving not as a transaction between haves and have-nots but as a powerful expression of solidarity and reciprocity—has a crucial role to play in solving the world’s most pressing challenges. Generosity is not a replacement for justice, but neither is justice possible without generosity. A resilient social fabric is not possible without generosity, nor are healthy communities, nor is a strong civil society, nor is true and lasting human connection. As we articulate the new framework and goals for GivingTuesday (both the movement and the organization at the heart of it), we do so with acute awareness of our opportunities and responsibilities: we have a credible path to creating a better future, together, and we must approach that work with hope, ambition, and humility.
