About

The World Giving Library is an interactive encyclopedia dedicated to the global history of generosity. Our mission is to be a comprehensive resource for those seeking to learn about and be inspired by acts of kindness and altruism. We’re continually looking to expand our collection to showcase diverse examples of giving and to inspire generosity worldwide.

About Our Articles

The world overflows with generous acts; not all of them have a home on this website yet. We have done our best to choose moments of clear importance in the history of generosity, persons of very broad significance in that history, and traditions that shine a light on the full diversity of generous actions across cultures. Small moments, though, can often illuminate the possibilities of generous action in unexpected ways, so you will also find a few small organizations’ lesser-known practices and individual experiences represented here alongside the engines of history and the famous philanthropists. They serve as reminders that most of the world’s generosity takes place, not as grand gestures, but as small gestures that bind one person to another.

About the Partners

The World Giving Library is a project of GivingTuesday, with generous support from the National Philanthropic Trust, whose History of Giving project was an important source of inspiration. We are glad to welcome TrustAfrica as a partner guiding and transforming content about African giving traditions.

GivingTuesday is a movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world. It was created in 2012 at New York’s 92nd Street Y and incubated in its Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact. What started in 2012 as a simple idea of a day that encourages people to do good has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity year-round. The movement is brought to life through a distributed network of entrepreneurial leaders who lead national movements in nearly 100 countries. People and organizations participate in GivingTuesday in every single country in the world. To learn more about GivingTuesday participants and activities, please visit givingtuesday.org

TrustAfrica  is a Pan African foundation headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. It was founded with a commitment to strengthen African agency in addressing the continent’s most pressing challenges. We operate from a conviction that Africans must work together to set their own development priorities, informed by the aspirations of African citizens. It has worked towards strengthening and broadening knowledge and understanding of the context, narratives, practice, and potential of African philanthropy to advance social justice in Africa, anchored on the belief that by nurturing African philanthropy, the continent can reduce dependency on external resources and chart a more sustainable path to development.