GlobalGiving has reached an incredible milestone: $1 billion raised to support nonprofits worldwide. But what’s really in a billion? Here’s a look at where that billion went, and the global community that made it all possible.
When GlobalGiving began more than two decades ago, we asked a simple question:
What if anyone, anywhere, could directly support the communities closest to the challenges they care about?
That question became a platform, and that platform became a pathway connecting local leaders around the world with people who believe in their vision.
Over time, that pathway has grown into a great, global community made of millions of people linked by a shared belief: local leaders know best how to help their communities thrive.
Together, this global community has now raised over $1 billion to fund 40,000+ incredible nonprofit projects around the world, from community kitchens in Gaza to coral reef restoration off the shores of Malaysia.
A billion raised isn’t just a milestone of generosity—it’s a testament to trust.
Your trust that GlobalGiving can bridge borders and ensure your gift reaches where it’s needed most. Our shared trust that the people living closest to the challenges have the wisdom to lead the solutions.
So when we say GlobalGiving has surpassed $1 billion raised for community-led change, we mean something bigger than a one with nine zeros. We mean a billion acts of belief.
It’s a billion times someone said, “This is our world, and we want better for it.”
And a billion responses saying, “We believe in you.”
It’s a call and a response.
It’s a need and an offering.
Because a billion doesn’t happen by accident, it’s built one act of trust at a time. It’s built by project leaders and their teams creating change in their neighborhoods, by corporate partners reimagining what giving can look like, by donors and fundraisers who keep showing up, and by GlobalGiving’s own team, working every day to move more resources to those doing the work on the ground.
Together, these connections form something bigger than a platform. They form a great global village, one that stretches across borders, languages, and causes, united by a shared commitment to community-led change.
Through these collective efforts, the billion becomes something tangible: the hum of a reopened classroom, the shade of a newly planted forest, and the laughter that returns as neighbors rebuild together.
A billion dollars might sound abstract, but the impact isn’t. It’s real and alive in communities, carried by the people who turn generosity into change. Because every dollar has a destination, and every destination begins with someone who decided to care.
It goes to Ms. Najah and her team of Gazan-neighbors-turned-cooks, stirring giant pots of lentils and spices so families displaced by violence can eat a warm meal together.
It goes to the young artists at Nafasi Art Space in Dar es Salaam, who step into studios to learn painting, filmmaking, and creative leadership—and step out ready to claim their cultural rights.
It goes to the Indigenous women of Paraguay, who walk the forest lines at dawn, defending their water sources and stopping deforestation with nothing but courage and collective will.
It goes to the circus tents in Cox’s Bazar, where performers help Rohingya children juggle, dance, and laugh again after years of displacement and trauma.
It goes to the girls of Osun State, Nigeria—214 of them—who stood up in their schoolyards this spring, voices steady and clear, after training with the Women Inspiration Development Center to speak out against gender-based violence and build a future grounded in equality.
It goes to Autumn and the Lahaina Community Land Trust, who are building community wealth on Maui one safeguarded acre at a time—protecting Hawaiian land from those who see it only as profit.
So, when we get asked, “Where did that first billion go?”, it’s not a simple answer.
It went to midwives, it went to beekeepers. It went to rivers, and it went to cities. It went to classrooms, and it went to farmer’s fields. It went to grandmas, and it went to orangutans. It went to artisans, and it went to bakers. It went to peace farms, and it went to war zones. It went to libraries, and it went to prisons.
It kept people in their homes after losing their job during COVID-19. It protected LGBTQ+ rights after devastating aid cuts in Uganda. It traveled to Ukrainian hospitals, where ordinary people offered extraordinary care. It went to flying foxes in Australia, and gray wolves in Colorado. It went to projects in Houston working with bayous so storms don’t become disasters, and bomb-detecting rats in war zones in Tanzania.
One billion dollars went to a million different hands. And it’s through those hands that a billion connections formed.
Each act of giving crosses borders, languages, and currencies to remind us that generosity is a shared language, and that connection is the most powerful currency of all.
And here is where the village really comes alive: it’s not only the people leading change, but also the people answering their call for help.
A billion connects at a person scrolling Instagram, falling in love with a baby albino elephant that looks just like the pink elephants she’s painted for years, and deciding to donate all her art proceeds to the nonprofit nursing that elephant back to health.
A billion connects with a group of actors touring southern Europe with the Gaza Monologues, a storytelling series created by a Palestinian nonprofit that uses theater for trauma healing in Gaza, and donating all their ticket proceeds to the organization.
Both chose to fundraise and give through GlobalGiving, giving us the great honor of linking people across the world through shared conviction and hope.
And it’s not just individuals driving this change. Over the past 22 years, we’ve made countless connections with companies like Ford Philanthropy, which partnered with GlobalGiving to put $100 million into the hands of local leaders around the world. And then there’s the Spanx Foundation, which legendarily supported 200 small, women-owned businesses with grants during the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping many small businesses alive that would have otherwise been lost.
But those are just a few stories from our village. And they’re only the beginning.
This milestone is worth celebrating—but it’s not the finish line.
GlobalGiving’s next chapter is about making generosity move even faster and reach even farther.
As our global community grows, we’re continuing to innovate. We’re building tools that make it easier for local nonprofits to fundraise worldwide, for donors to give with transparency, and for partners to collaborate on lasting solutions to challenges like climate change, displacement, and inequality.
Because this milestone isn’t an ending, it’s a foundation for what comes next.
“A billion dollars is more than a measure of generosity, it’s a measure of belief. Belief that people everywhere can make change that lasts. To every donor, partner, and local leader who made this possible: thank you for trusting in that vision.” —Victoria Vrana, GlobalGiving CEO
A billion raised means a billion reasons to keep going. Because if the first billion proved that community-led change works, the next billion will show that it can grow further and reach deeper—sustainably, equitably, and together.
Join the movement to raise the next billion.
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