Chris Worman: The Power of Giving

Welcome to If You Were in Charge Season 2, a podcast featuring global peace strategist Sanam Naraghi Anderlini. This week, Sanam speaks with Chris Worman, Chief Global Strategy & Partnership Officer at GivingTuesday. Together, they discuss the critical role of civil society and philanthropy at a time when the sector is facing significant funding challenges. Their conversation explores the importance of generosity, civic engagement, and the impact of initiatives like GivingTuesday in fostering community resilience and a shared future. At the end of the episode, Sanam is joined by her daughter, Soleh, a PhD student at Cambridge, to discuss this week's topic and how these themes resonate with her and her friends' experiences. The podcast reframes global challenges as global solutions in these extraordinary times of turbulence. What would the world look like if those living through and working on today’s toughest crises were given the power and resources to lead real change? That’s the driving question behind the podcast, hosted by renowned peacebuilder and ICAN founder Sanam Naraghi Anderlini. Each episode features frontline doers and imaginers—activists, organizers, and peacebuilders—whose lived experience, courage, and ideas are reshaping what’s possible. Sanam explores what they’re already achieving, what they could do with greater power and support, and what gives them hope. If You Were In Charge is brought to you by the Bjian Ghaisar Foundation And ICAN International Civil Society Action Network ICAN’s newsletter: https://icanpeacework.org/2025/03/sign-up-to-icans-newsletter/ Original Music, Little Monster Media  Executive Producer: Pearse Lynch This is an Africa Digital Audio Production Chapters 00:00 The Importance of Civil Society 05:05 Chris Wurman's Journey into Philanthropy 10:14 The Role of Philanthropy in Global Development 15:20 Understanding Generosity and Civic Engagement 20:25 The Impact of Giving Tuesday on Global Generosity 25:42 The Role of Civil Society in Generosity 27:07 Reassessing Aid and Institutional Failures 29:01 Building Local Infrastructure for Giving 30:28 Challenges in International Giving 32:00 Investing in Local Development 35:05 Hope for Civil Society in a Changing World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices