Asha Curran: Radical generosity & the power of everyday giving

Send us Fan MailIn 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 TuesdayGiving Tuesday Data CommonsAsha'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.