Avaaz Facts

Frequently Asked Questions:

• Where is Avaaz based? The Avaaz core team works from 18 cities on five continents, using online tools to collaborate in a "virtual office," supported by a network of thousands of volunteers throughout the world.


• How is Avaaz funded? Avaaz is 100% funded by small, online donations from our 14 million members around the world and has raised over $15 million (€11 million) online at an average donation size of $35/€25 Euros. We accept no money from governments or corporations and donations to Avaaz are not tax deductible, so our community alone decides what we do and what we say.


• Who started Avaaz? Avaaz.org was co-founded by Res Publica, a global civic advocacy group, and Moveon.org, an online community that has pioneered internet advocacy in the United States. Our co-founding team was also composed of a group of leading global social entrepreneurs from six countries, including our founding President and Executive Director Ricken Patel, Tom Perriello, Tom Pravda, Eli Pariser, Andrea Woodhouse, Jeremy Heimans, and David Madden.


• Where do Avaaz members live? Avaaz's largest countries are Brazil and France, with more than 1 million members in each country. A global map of the Avaaz membership can be found on this page.


• What does "Avaaz" mean? Avaaz means “voice” or “song” in many languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, Turkish, Farsi and Bosnian.


• Does online activism actually work? Yes! Technology alone doesn't create change, but it can supercharge campaigns that have a clear strategy and theory of change. By connecting citizens across borders at a scale and speed that was previously impossible, online tools allow many small actions to add up to something powerful. Read stories about the impact of Avaaz campaigns on the highlights page.

Since 2007, Avaaz members have:

• Taken over 50 million actions online and offline, including messages sent, phone calls and petition signatures.
• Raised over $15 million online, including millions in funding and high tech support for human rights and democracy advocates in Burma, Zimbabwe, Tibet, Iran, Haiti and more.
• Organized almost 10,000 rallies, flashmobs, vigils, marches and other online events—giving a massive boost to the climate change movement and other vital campaigns.
• Won several significant victories, from establishing the world’s largest ocean preserve and protecting the bans on whale hunting and ivory trading, to passing strong forestry and anti-corruption laws in Brazil, to shifting Japanese, German and Canadian policies on climate change.