Founders Mari Kuraishi and Dennis Whittle quit their jobs at the World Bank, convinced that the world’s most pressing problems would only be solved if local communities were in the lead. Today, GlobalGiving is accelerating community-led change around the world, making aid and philanthropy work for ordinary people with extraordinary vision.
Feel firsthand the power of community-led change in Kenya, Portland, and Puerto Rico with Hope Foundation for African Women, Seeding Sovereignty, and La Maraña with these three #CommunityForward films.
Grace endured female genital mutilation (FGM) as a girl, and the painful experience haunted her. She founded Hope Foundation for African Women to end the life-threatening practice in Kenya, starting from within the communities where it happens. Grace’s work is inspired by her belief that FGM survivors and perpetrators, sometimes one and the same, hold the key to ending FGM and breaking gender barriers once and for all.
S.A. is bringing Indigenous and marginalized people together in healing ways and spaces through the collective Seeding Sovereignty. The legacy of ethnic persecution and trauma that S.A. and their family faced, including residential boarding schools and the Sixties Scoop Era, fuels their determination to lead by example, and bring support, validation, and joy to others in their journey through the healing process in a colonized world.
Carlo witnessed firsthand the devastation in Puerto Rico after hurricanes Irma and Maria—and the painfully slow government response that left lights out in some communities for months. Carlo believes Puerto Ricans themselves know best how to create safer futures, but they’re shut out through broken systems. His job is to make space for Puerto Ricans to envision and execute solutions at the nonprofit La Maraña.
Hear from changemakers across the globe in this recording of GlobalGiving's 20th anniversary event. You’ll meet award-winning actress Patricia Velásquez, Teen Vogue editor Versha Sharma, and other GlobalGiving advocates who are determined to accelerate community-led change.
Community-led organizations
are agile, connected, and flexible, yet just a sliver of aid dollars reaches them—historically less than 2%
Nearly half of international aid dollars
go to the same 10 large organizations
Developing countries
give $3 trillion more to the rest of the world than they get back
