In 1997, Mari Kuraishi and Dennis Whittle saw that game-changing ideas in global development weren’t getting the attention they deserved. Determined to change that, they launched an experiment. In 2000, they invited social entrepreneurs—from NASA scientists to a woman leaving her Ugandan village for the first time—to pitch their ideas at the World Bank. The event proved that great ideas can come from anywhere. Two years later, they founded GlobalGiving, the world’s first crowdfunding community, empowering people in 175+ countries to fund and support vetted nonprofits with ease.
Mission
To transform aid and philanthropy to accelerate community-led change.
Vision
Unleashed potential of people to make positive change happen.
Get an inside look at GlobalGiving with co-founder Mari Kuraishi. Founded in 2002, GlobalGiving makes it easy for anyone to support local change anywhere in the world.
Dennis Whittle | Co-Founder
Dennis Whittle is the co-founder of GlobalGiving and gave this talk at TEDxYSE: Unleashing Young Social Entrepreneurs in Washington, DC on November 13th, 2010.
Mari Kuraishi | Co-Founder
How does a World Bank employee go on to co-found a charitable organization that funds human aid around the globe? Mari Kuraishi tells the story of GlobalGiving.
We believe in the power of great ideas and that these ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time.
We continually experiment. We fail quickly and productively. We use data and feedback to guide our course.
We have an obligation to question the rules, change them for the better, raise the bar, play a different game, and play it better than anyone thinks is possible.
We act promptly, enthusiastically, and professionally so people are WOW-ed by their interactions with us.
Commitment
Use our privilege, influence, and access to share power, delivering equitable and inclusive services so everyone in our community feels safe, valued, and supported.
We’ve made it possible for more than 560 companies to support local causes around the world. We help companies expand their philanthropic footprint with global nonprofit vetting, grantmaking, charitable gift cards, and digital campaigns to power cause marketing, disaster response, and employee giving.
We’re curious, passionate, and committed to helping nonprofits learn and grow. Oh, and some of us are stage actors and worm farmers on the side.
