Philanthropisms Asha Curran: Radical generosity & the power of everyday giving
Nov 13, 2025
59:33
In this episode we talk to Asha Curran, CEO of GivingTuesday, about the evolution of Giving Tuesday from its origins as a US-based giving day to its current incarnation as a global generosity movement operating in over 100 countries worldwide; and what she has learned about the power of everyday acts of giving. Including:
- How has GivingTuesday evolved since its inception over a decade ago?
- What are the key aims of the organisation today?
- How important does the actual Giving Tuesday day itself remain? What does success look like on the day?
- What is the role of the GT Data Commons?
- Is there a decline in generosity in the US (and other countries), or is giving just evolving into new forms?
- Can emphasising the impact of small acts of generosity give people a sense of agency at a time when they might otherwise feel powerless in the face of major challenges facing our world?
- Does collective giving build social capital?
- Can mass giving movements help to counter concerns about the potentially anti-democratic impact of big money philanthropy?
- Have the Trump administration’s attacks on philanthropy and nonprofits had any impact on GivingTuesday as an organisation and on its mission?
- What lessons should the nonprofit sector should be taking from populist attacks?
FURTHER READING:
- Giving Tuesday
- Giving Tuesday Data Commons
- Asha's 2023 SSIR article "The Case for Effusive Altruism"
- BBC article from 2022, "Giving Tuesday: How day for 'radical generosity' went global"
- 2021 event "Rewriting the Rules of Giving", moderated by Rhodri, featuring Asha, Lucy Bernholz and Edgar Villanueva.
- WPM articles, "Language Barriers: is the way we talk about philanthropy and civil society holding us back?" and "Why Are We So Bad at Measuring Giving and Why Does It Matter?"
- Philanthropisms podcast episodes with Pamala Wiepking, Sara Lomelin and Lucy Bernholz.