GlobalGiving
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About GlobalGiving
GlobalGiving is an online marketplace that directly connects donors with grassroots projects in the developing world. Its mission is to become the world's richest marketplace in international aid and philanthropy - rich not only in terms of funding, but also in terms of knowledge and innovation. Its long-term goal is to globalize opportunity.
GlobalGiving has been compared in the national media to the "eBay of international aid."[link] The philosophy underlying GlobalGiving is that market-based mechanisms can dramatically increase access and help ensure that aid resources flow to their best use, and can stimulate innovation in a way that existing approaches find difficult.
Some of the world's leading companies such as Hewlett-Packard have used the GlobalGiving platform to allow their employees to donate directly to grassroots social and economic development projects around the world.
And some of the world's leading NGOs (non-profits) such as Ashoka, World Neighbors, IDEX, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Women's Funding Network are using the system to load projects designed by grassroots groups that they stand behind.[link] Award-winning Social Entrepreneurs honored by The Schwab Foundation have elected to use the GlobalGiving platform, and selected winners of the World Bank's Development Marketplace are also eligible.
Origins
Prior to founding GlobalGiving, Mari Kuraishi and Dennis Whittle were heads of strategy and innovation at the World Bank. While in that post, they created the first-ever Innovation Marketplace for Bank staff in 1998, an internal competition in which Bank employees pitched their own ideas for fighting poverty worldwide. The winners received grants to make their ideas happen. The competition resulted in some of the most innovative ideas and effective programs the bank has done.
In 2000, they took the concept and competition to the outside world. The Development Marketplace enabled any social entrepreneur in the world to compete for Bank funds. The program was extremely successful - finalists from all over the world gathered in Washington, DC, and $5 million was awarded to the 44 most innovative projects. Participants described the Development Marketplace as "brilliant", "extraordinary", and "life-changing."
Based on the Marketplaces' success, Mari and Dennis saw tremendous potential in creating an Internet-based platform to facilitate a broader range of social and economic investments in developing countries. In October 2000, they left the World Bank, and on February 14, 2002, GlobalGiving (formerly DevelopmentSpace) was launched.
Vision
Unleash the potential of people around the world to make positive change happen.
Mission
Build an efficient, open, thriving marketplace that connects people who have community and world-changing ideas with people who can support them.
Values
We believe the world is interconnected and our own well-being depends on the world's prosperity.
We believe prosperity requires innovation, creativity, and an open space for people to learn and share.
We believe that people naturally want to help one another.
We believe that everyone has something to contribute.
We believe that access to high-quality information drives good decisions.
We believe in mutual accountability.
We believe in GlobalGiving.
More GlobalGiving Details
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