After a change.org petition demanding accountability for the killing of George Floyd garnered over 17 million signatures, it became the company’s largest petition to date. Former employees then joined together in a Medium post, criticizing the company for their donations policy. The 90 former employees called on the company to give those donations to George Floyd’s family. 

After signing the petition people are asked to chip in a small donation to further promote and fund the campaign.  The money donated funded over 100 billboards across New York City and Minneapolis.  According to change.org, petition organizers do have the option of opting out of the donation feature when posting a campaign. This feature has been widely criticized by organizers in the past. After the former employees published the blog post on Medium, change.org disabled this opt-in feature.

Now after all this backlash, the company has decided to make a commitment. They are donating $6 million to groups that are fighting racial justice. $2.5 million will go towards helping racial justice petitions on the platform get more attention. $1.5 million will be used to create a new internet team that finds way to engage people in racial justice organizing after they sign a petition. The remainder will be put into a fund dedicated to fighting for and supporting racial justice. 

All it takes is someone speaking up when they see that something isn’t right. Don’t be afraid to use your voice. That’s how change happens.