Congratulations and gratitude to everyone who participated in the 2011 Free Money Day!

The event was an overwhelming success.  With 63 events in 43 towns and cities, in 18 different countries, there were an estimated 1462 recipients of free money who then passed half of it on to someone else.  (Approximately $2759 AUD was given away on the day). It was exciting for us at the Post Growth Institute to see the diverse ways the event was taken up around the world.  One participant mailed money to strangers, one placed it in random places accompanied by drawings to give away with it, and another engaged in a virtual Free Money Day campaign.  Some people approached passers-by, while others waited to see if strangers would approach them.  As a social experiment, the options were endless, and we are looking forward to hear more about how it all went.

Participants everywhere seemed to engage with the deeper ideas behind the event.  As a result, the conversations that emerged on the ground, in cyberspace, in print, and on the airwaves were dynamic, and already wheels are turning in new directions.

For instance, Brendan Rigby suggests adapting the ideas behind Free Money Day to inform not only ‘economies of sharing’ but education based on sharing.  Donnie noted at one of the Sydney events that people were much more eager to receive when they learned about the expectation to pass something on to someone else, strengthening the idea that sharing really is what it’s all about!  And Nadia Bunce, blogging at Ethical Nippon, contextualizes Free Money Day within the larger movement of anti-materialism and the philosophy of slow.

In order to keep the conversations going, don’t forget to share your photos, videos, and experiences with us so we can make them available to others.  Also, if you have constructive feedback or ideas for future events, we’d love to hear from you.

With the Post Growth team having just held our Free Money Day event debrief, we’re now looking excitedly at how we can make this event even bigger and truly axis-changing in 2012! We look forward to the shared journey ahead.