Share the gift of gratitude and change the social imagination that leads to relational transformation, a fulfilled self, a sense of belonging, and a harmonious and just society.

Our Vision

We want to tell a new story through the power of gratitude, so that we may discover a new language that encourages the behaviour of altruism.

Our Mission

The Gratitude Initiative’s mission is to encourage and promote a ‘gratitude culture’ in Britain, (i.e. a culture where we practice and express gratitude even as we seek and strive for social and personal development and growth) in our personal as well as our communal lives. For this reason, we see gratitude as a vehicle towards both a fulfilled self and a harmonious society.

Our Aim

The Gratitude Initiative aims to change our culture one conversation at a time, in one community after another. And we’ll do this by resourcing and gathering communities to talk about and practise gratitude.

“Introducing gratitude as the generative image would change the core narratives in our communities, disrupting the pattern of the status quo by reviewing the way one thinks and by motivating new approaches, conversations, decisions and actions.”

 

Girma Bishaw, Director and Founder of Gratitude Initiative

Why we promote Gratitude?

We are convinced that a greater culture of gratitude can make a very significant social contribution. A society in which resentments towards the other are frequently expressed without respect and mutual appreciation is a society in danger of fragmentation.

A society, however, in which gratitude to the other is readily expressed is one that will be inevitably more stable and coherent. We feel that in the wake of recent political and social developments this message, whilst timeless, is of particular value and urgency.

Who are we?

We were founded in 2015 by Girma Bishaw to encourage and promote a gratitude culture in Britain. Since launching, we have worked with church and community leaders and hosted two Gratitude receptions at the House of Lords for one hundred and twenty church and community leaders, who have come from twenty nations and made Britain their home. Worked with the church and community leaders in Islington and organised two Gratitude Dinners for public and voluntary sector representatives from fifty organisations.

 

We have held seminars, workshops and lead conversations on the social and individual benefits of Gratitude. We were engaged with several individuals who struggled with a feeling of resentment and unforgiveness and witnessed them embracing Gratitude and experiencing a change in the way they relate with others.

 

We are connected with organisations like churches, Schools, Faith forms and charities who are interested in working with us to promote a gratitude culture within their organisations and beyond.  We would like to see Gratitude events happening in all boroughs of London and the big cities around the UK.

 

We would like to see Gratitude being included within the school curriculum.  We would like to see thousands of Gratitude ambassadors and champions recruited to promote a Gratitude culture. We would like to see the social benefit of Gratitude being appreciated and understood and used as a framework that facilitates difficult conversations to take place in a constructive manner.

 

We would like to see resources that inform and help individuals and communities practice Gratitude. We would like to see Gratitude launched nationally. Finally, we would like to see a national day of Gratitude being designated in Britain.

If you would like to get involved, donate, sign up to our newsletter or follow us on social media, we would be delighted.

“In ordinary life, we hardly realise that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer