GlobalGiving Makes a Difference Around the World

GlobalGiving has been making a significant difference in the lives of people around the world since 2002. Founded by Dennis Whittle and Mari Kuraishi, the organization's mission is to connect people who want to help with people who need it.

With a presence in over 160 countries, GlobalGiving has a vast network of partners and grantees working on diverse projects. These projects range from education and healthcare to economic development and disaster relief.

One notable example of GlobalGiving's impact is the "Kiva Zip" project, which provided microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. This initiative helped borrowers access affordable credit and build sustainable businesses.

GlobalGiving's efforts have also led to the creation of innovative solutions, such as the "CrowdRise" platform, which enables people to raise funds for personal causes and charitable projects.

GlobalGiving was founded by Mari Kuraishi and Dennis Whittle, who previously worked at the World Bank, creating the first-ever Innovation Marketplace in 1998 to fund employee ideas for fighting poverty worldwide.

The organization started as a collaboration between the GlobalGiving Foundation and ManyFutures, Inc., with major funding provided by the Omidyar Network, the Skoll Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

In 2002, GlobalGiving was launched as an Internet-based platform to facilitate social and economic investments in developing countries, with a goal of transforming aid and philanthropy to accelerate community-led change.

GlobalGiving's history is rooted in innovation. Mari Kuraishi and Dennis Whittle, the founders, were heads of strategy and innovation at the World Bank.

They created the first-ever Innovation Marketplace for Bank staff in 1998, an internal competition where employees pitched ideas to fight poverty worldwide. The winners received grants to develop their ideas.

In 2000, they took the concept outside, creating the Development Marketplace, which allowed social entrepreneurs worldwide to compete for Bank funds. The program was extremely successful, with $5 million awarded to 44 innovative projects.

The success of the Marketplaces led to the launch of an Internet-based platform to facilitate social and economic investments in developing countries. Mari and Dennis left the World Bank and launched GlobalGiving in February 2002.

Major funding for the launch and early stages came from organizations like the Omidyar Network and the Skoll Foundation. GlobalGiving was initially a collaboration between the GlobalGiving Foundation and ManyFutures, Inc.

In 2008, ManyFutures became a formal subsidiary of the GlobalGiving Foundation, with all operations placed under direct foundation management.

The world's biggest problems aren't being solved fast enough, and it's largely because the people with the best solutions are being shut out.

In the prevailing top-down system of aid and philanthropy, funders and donors hold the power, which often means that nonprofits aren't accountable to the communities closest to challenges they seek to solve.

Local, community-led nonprofits are chronically underfunded, receiving less than 2% of all humanitarian aid.

GlobalGiving is on a mission to transform the way aid and philanthropy work, putting communities in the drivers seat of change.

GlobalGiving is a US-based non-profit organization that allows individuals and companies to donate to various projects through its website globalgiving.org.

The organization is supported by a network of implementing, corporate, and institutional partners.

Donors can contribute to projects using a variety of methods, including credit/debit card, check, PayPal, Apple Pay, stock transfer, DAF, or M-Pesa.

The organization retains a 5-12% nonprofit support fee plus a 3% third-party processing fee for each donation.

GlobalGiving is a US-based non-profit organization that individuals and companies can donate to through the website globalgiving.org.

It's supported by a network of implementing, corporate and institutional partners, which helps it reach a wider audience and achieve its mission.

A donor can contribute any amount using a credit/debit card, check, PayPal, Apple Pay, stock transfer, DAF, or M-Pesa, making it easy and convenient for people to give.

GlobalGiving funds itself by retaining a 5–12% nonprofit support fee plus a 3% third-party processing fee for each donation, which covers the cost of providing support and training to nonprofits.

The nonprofit support fee also covers conducting rigorous due diligence on organizations and conducting field visits, ensuring that donations are used effectively.

GlobalGiving's administrative overhead is 3.0%, which is a relatively low percentage, indicating that a large portion of donations go directly to supporting projects.

Companies can also use the GlobalGiving platform to allow their employees, customers, partners, or foundation entities to donate directly to grassroots social and economic development projects around the world.

This allows companies to engage their stakeholders in giving and make a positive impact on the communities they care about.

The funding decision for each project is crowd-sourced to the public, rather than determined by a team of experts, which makes it a more democratic and inclusive process.

Each project depends on evangelists (people who spread good news) to flourish, highlighting the importance of community engagement and advocacy in achieving project goals.

Governance is a crucial aspect of any organization's structure. It's the system by which the organization is directed and controlled. In the case of the organization we're discussing, it meets several key standards related to governance.

The organization has a board of directors that provides adequate oversight of its operations and staff. This is indicated by regular appraisals of the CEO's performance, board approval of the budget and fundraising practices, a conflict of interest policy, and accounting procedures that safeguard the charity's finances.

A minimum of five voting members is required on the board of directors. This is a standard that the organization meets.

The organization holds a minimum of three evenly spaced meetings per year of the full governing body, with a majority in attendance. This ensures that the board is actively involved in decision-making and that all members have a voice.

Compensated board members are limited to no more than one or 10% of the total number of voting members, whichever is greater. This helps to prevent conflicts of interest and ensures that the board remains independent.

The organization has no transactions in which any board or staff members have material conflicting interests with the charity. This is a key aspect of conflict of interest policy, which helps to maintain transparency and accountability within the organization.

Here are the key governance standards that the organization meets:

GlobalGiving is supported by a network of implementing, corporate and institutional partners. This network allows individuals and companies to donate to a wide variety of projects through the website globalgiving.org.

The organization has a large number of vetted nonprofit organizations as part of its community, receiving financial support through the platform. GlobalGiving has a robust system in place to vet and support these organizations.

Donors can contribute to projects using a variety of methods, including credit/debit cards, checks, and stock transfers. This flexibility makes it easy for people to support their chosen projects.

Each project on the platform has a unique history of funding and project updates, which serves as a form of reputation system for the implementing organization. This transparency helps build trust with donors and potential donors.

GlobalGiving's nonprofit partner community attributes a high level of effectiveness to the organization's support, with an average Nonprofit Partner Support Score of 10, indicating the highest score.

A different take: Community Funded

GlobalGiving has a long history of providing disaster relief to those in need. They regularly launch relief funds to support nonprofits helping communities affected by natural disasters and humanitarian crises.

In response to disasters, GlobalGiving deploys a model of effective community-led relief and recovery through locally focused grants, advocacy, and training programs. This approach has been described by their former Chief Program Officer as a key part of their disaster relief efforts.

GlobalGiving has funded relief work in response to a wide range of disasters, including the 2017 Hurricane Maria and the 2015 Nepal earthquake. They've also provided support during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan.

Their disaster relief efforts have been regularly recommended by USAID's Center for International Disaster Information to donors looking to support disaster relief efforts. This endorsement speaks to the effectiveness of GlobalGiving's approach in making a meaningful difference in the lives of those affected by disaster.

GlobalGiving's nonprofit partner community attributes an average score of 7 out of 10 to the organization's support in helping them achieve their self-defined goals.

This score is based on a Nonprofit Partner Support Score, which is a way to measure the effectiveness of GlobalGiving's support. The score is calculated by averaging the ratings from the nonprofit partners, with 10 being the highest score.

GlobalGiving measures their results by tracking activities, outcomes, and impacts, and collecting data before, during, and after program implementation. They also conduct data analysis over multiple points in time to measure change over time.

Here are some of the ways GlobalGiving uses their data:

Our Results section provides a clear picture of GlobalGiving's accomplishments and progress towards their mission. They've raised over $924M for more than 36,800 charitable projects in 175+ countries since their founding in 2002.

GlobalGiving's comprehensive response to the 2023 earthquake in Morocco is a notable example of their work. They provided aid to hard-to-reach communities through long-held partnerships with trusted nonprofits, raising over $4 million for recovery.

Here are some key statistics from their 2023 progress:

GlobalGiving's commitment to equity and diversity is evident in their efforts to welcome more partners from underrepresented regions. They've made significant strides in this area, with over 40% of their newest partners coming from sub-Saharan Africa.

By tracking their activities, outcomes, and impacts, GlobalGiving ensures that their efforts are aligned with their mission and goals. They collect data before, during, and after program implementation to measure their success and inform future decisions.

Funding Practices are a crucial aspect of any organization's performance. The organization in question meets the standard of spending at least 65% of its total expenses on program activities, as per Standard 8 (Program Service Expense Ratio).

Let's take a closer look at how the organization allocates its funds. According to Standard 9 (Fund Raising Expense Ratio), the organization spends no more than 35% of related contributions on fund raising. This is a great indicator of the organization's commitment to using its resources efficiently.

Related reading: The School Fund

Here's a breakdown of the organization's financial standards:

In addition to meeting these financial standards, the organization also influences funding practices by encouraging corporate partners to adopt community-led funding principles.

GlobalGiving's vetting program is a rigorous process that ensures nonprofits participating in its community meet certain standards. Nonprofits are judged on characteristics such as transparency, accountability, financials, and compliance with local regulations and international philanthropic guidelines.

Nonprofits are also evaluated on their ability to engage with the GlobalGiving community, which suggests that active participation is an important factor in their vetting process. This includes factors such as how well they manage their fundraising programs on the platform.

The vetting process also takes into account a nonprofit's ability to crowdfund on the platform, which implies that GlobalGiving looks for organizations that can effectively leverage its fundraising tools.

GlobalGiving's nonprofit partner support rating is a key indicator of its effectiveness in helping partner organizations achieve their goals. It's a score from 1-10, with 10 being the highest, and it's based on the nonprofit community's self-assessment of GlobalGiving's support.

The score is an average of the ratings given by the nonprofit partners themselves, which shows that GlobalGiving's support is highly valued by its partners. In fact, the score is a direct reflection of the nonprofit community's trust in GlobalGiving's ability to help them succeed.

GlobalGiving's vetting program for nonprofits is rigorous, taking into account factors such as transparency, accountability, and compliance with local regulations and international guidelines. This ensures that only high-quality nonprofits are part of the GlobalGiving community.

The number of organizational partners is a testament to GlobalGiving's ability to attract and support a large and diverse network of nonprofits. As of now, there are a total number of vetted nonprofit organizations that were part of the GlobalGiving community and received financial support.

GlobalGiving's results are measured through the nonprofit partner support rating, which provides valuable insights into its effectiveness. By understanding how GlobalGiving's support impacts its partner organizations, we can see the real-world effects of its efforts.

GlobalGiving's nonprofit partner community gives them a Nonprofit Partner Support Score, which is an average score from 1-10 that measures the impact of their support. This score is a testament to the effectiveness of GlobalGiving's support.

The score is defined as the highest score, 10, which indicates the highest level of impact. This means that GlobalGiving's support is making a significant difference in the lives of people and issues.

GlobalGiving has earned Charity Navigator's highest rating of four stars. This is a prestigious rating that recognizes their commitment to accountability and transparency.

The Better Business Bureau's 2019 review also gives GlobalGiving a thumbs up, stating that they meet all of their charity accreditation standards. This is a great endorsement of their good work.