Open letter from more than 140 former Change.org employees regarding #BlackLivesMatter petition revenue
Note: If you’re a current or former Change.org employee and wish to sign this letter, email BLMopenletter@gmail.com and we’ll respond with the link to add your name. We will continually update this post with new signers.
To: Ben Rattray, Change.org CEO
CC: Nick Allardice, Change.org acting CEO
CC: Reid Hoffman, Lead investor
Dear Ben, Nick, and Reid:
As former employees of Change.org, we write to express extreme concern over the company’s handling of donations raised by its #BlackLivesMatter petitions, especially one with more than 16 million signatures demanding accountability for the police officers who murdered George Floyd. The petition calls for signers to “become a hero” by “chipping in,” but these donations do not go to George Floyd’s family, or to organizations fighting for Black lives. Rather, these contributions serve to market the petition and Change.org itself via billboards and digital ads. Change.org is siphoning resources away from organizations that are accountable to Black people and equipped to do deeper, long-term, community-based organizing for Black lives and liberation. At the same time, Change.org continues to host numerous petitions advocating against racial justice and leaders of color — including multiple petitions calling for Black Lives Matter to be labeled a terrorist group — and generates revenue from those as well.
Since Change.org is a for-profit corporation which depends on collecting new email addresses to make money, these actions constitute Change.org profiting from the death of Black people. We understand that’s a serious statement to levy, and we don’t take it lightly. Accordingly, we ask that Change.org take immediate action:
- We ask that you disclose publicly how much money was raised by the George Floyd petition, and donate that amount to Floyd’s family and organizers working directly to end anti-Black violence. We also ask for a similar disclosure and donation of funds raised by the multi-million signature petitions calling for justice for Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. We think it would be meaningful for Change.org to connect with racial justice leaders in Minnesota, Kentucky, and Georgia — as well as San Francisco, New York, and other cities where Change.org occupies office space — to determine how these funds can be of most use to Black communities.
- We ask that you create a policy to ensure that Change.org is not the beneficiary of Black pain and anti-Black violence at any time in the future — a policy created in consultation with Black experts and community leaders, which prioritizes Black needs and is expressed by Black voices. Change.org is a for-profit corporation owned and led primarily by white people, with fewer than a dozen Black staff members out of 264 global staff, and must take decisive action to avoid any possibility of profit from anti-Black violence and systems of white supremacy.
- We ask that you offer all future petition starters the option to exclude their petition from generating revenue for the company. We understand that Change.org requires a revenue model, but this situation highlights the need for a more thoughtful and ethical approach to generating revenue more broadly. Organizers’ access to Change.org’s tools should not be dependent on their willingness to have their cause used to raise money for a company without their consent.
We write this letter with a fervent hope that you’ll redirect funds from these petitions by June 30th. We share this letter publicly in accordance with Change.org’s own values that leveraging collective action is the most effective way to create change. We care deeply about Change.org’s mission — as we know do you — and we believe these changes would restore trust in the platform.
Sincerely,
Abraham Lucero
Adam Fischman
Adam Jacob Schwartz
Adrienne Lever
Aften Lay
A.J. Walton
Alex Navissi
Alice Wu
Amanda Kloer
Andrea Wood
Andrew Milton
Anna Hirsch
Aruna Balakrishnan
Avijit Michael
Benjamin Lowe
Bonnie Thornbury
Brandon Scott
Callie Thompson
Carly Quaglio
Carol Mirakove
Carol Scott
Cecilia Xia
Charlotte Hill
Chelsea Coffman
Chris Walsh
Christina Frenzel
Christine Dela Rosa
Corinne Ball
Dan Halioua
Deepa Gupta
Dev Aujla
Dhruv Dang
Dian Rosanti
Eleanor Morrison
Emilia Gutierrez
Eric Lukoff
Eric Nicholas
Erik Ogan
Erin Viray-San Martin
Eva Arevuo
Evan Faber
Fernand Pajot
Gabriela Garcia
Ghaida Zahran
Graziela Tanaka
Heather Sullivan
Jamie Krute
Jamie Mueller
Jared Grippe
Jeff Pierce
Jen Perrone
Jenna Lowenstein
Jess Kutch
Jess Leber
Jessica Schwartz
Jocelyn Garibay
Joe Hergert
Joe Mirabella
Johnny Chatterton
Jonathan Borge
Jonathan Perri
Kamla Kasichainula
Kate Davey
Kate Stayman-London
Kate Thomas Kleinschmidt
Katharine Segal
Katherine Baird
Katherine Sladden
Kathryn Lewis
Kathryn Semogas
Katie Farhat
Katie VanLangen
Katy May Spencer
Katy McKegney
Keith Blonder
Kelly Hale
Kelly Sawyers
Kellyn Loftus
Kendra Ijeoma
Keria Madow
Kini Schoop
Kristiane Skolmen
Krupa Shah
Kyle Stoneman
Lawrence Grodeska
Lauren P. Adams
Leticia Floresmeyer
Lindsey Appleby
Liz Moderi
Maggie Aker
Mallory Russell
Mandy Johnson
Manya Scheps
Maria Tchijov
Mark Anthony Dingbaum
Marsha Pierre
Matt Fender
Matthew Ferry
Megan Lubin
Meghan Teich Pierret
Melinda Fox
Michael Arick
Michael Whitney
Michelle Melendez
Morgan Fletcher
Natalie Green
Nick Gaw
Nicole Cairns
Nina Reyes Rosenberg
Noemí Jiménez
Noland Chambliss
Paul Minton
Paul Ruban
Peter Lebo
Peter Schmitt
Pulin Modi
Rachel LaBruyere
Rashi Jauhri
Robin Beck
Ryan M. Eller
Sam Boltax
Sam Hartsock
Sam McAfee
Sara Menefee
Sarah Ryan
Sean Dick
Sean McDonnell
Shareeza Bhola
Shayna Englin
Sierra Jackson
Summer Coper
Tabatha Fulker
Tammy Ho
Tamseel Hussain
Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman
Tatiana Marshall
Tim Lim
Tim Newman
Timothy James
Visha Fox
William Barrett
William R. Johnson
William Winters, III
Zoe Rivka Panagopoulos
