Winter 2021: 

What the Rest of the World Knows

The Better Ideas issue sparked conversations about potential solutions to some of the ongoing challenges facing the United States, from our economy to our disconnected relationship with nature to long overdue calls for racial justice, truth, and reconciliation. Some readers rightly pointed out that there is no quick fix to many of these ills—and no single solution can be transferred wholesale from one unique country to another. Others found in our issue introductions to novel concepts and ways of being that yield vastly different results from what we have become accustomed to stateside. 

“Thanks for identifying these amazing places to invest our energy and attention for social change!” Wally Graeber wrote on Instagram, commenting on “11 Better Ideas for a Country in Need of Change.” 

On Facebook, Kelsie Pink found Mark P. Fancher’s article “Where Incarceration Isn’t the Answer” to be insightful. “Really good, in-depth article,” she wrote. “I was blown away by some of the stats and very interested in how other countries do approach this in a way that still treats people like humans. Especially the part about restorative justice!” 

While sharing our “11 Better Ideas” article on Facebook, Claudia Jimenez added some kind words: “One of my sources of hope these days is YES! Magazine. It reminds me that there are pockets of possibility all over the world. It takes work. I probably won’t see it in my lifetime. … And I am encouraged to know many people are working together to make it happen. Yes!”

As 2020 came to an end, YES! readers closed out a difficult year in truly inspiring fashion. Supporters not only helped us surpass our year-end fundraising goal, but also flooded our inboxes and mailboxes with heartfelt messages of appreciation for the labor of love that goes into each new issue, each article we publish, and each email we send or phone call we make. We’re fortunate to have such generous, dedicated readers, and we hope these messages spark hope for what’s to come in 2021, as they did for our staff.

“Thank you for your ongoing efforts to provide superb, inclusive reporting on topics of interest to so many, most definitely including me.”—Robin Woodward

“My experience of this year would be so totally different if I hadn’t found YES! and opened my mind to all the possibilities out there. I don’t always have the time to read the newsletter every day, but when I do it is so uplifting and stimulates the imagination. Tunes me toward how can I help instead of how helpless I feel.”  —Carlotta Hayes

“The editorial staff seems to present a more diverse viewpoint, and the magazine seems more focused, rather than a simply feel-good read of stories that seem hard to envision as reality. Keep up the change, it’s so exciting! Thanks for your dedication and skill.”—Ellen Laverdure 

“I always read the headline, and start reading the article and think that I know exactly where it is going, and what they are going to say, and I’m always wrong and it is so surprising and refreshing!”—Katherine Madrone Moulton 

“The work that you do with YES! Magazine is incredibly timely, pertinent, and a source of fresh knowledge and perspective. … The combination of intellect and heart that goes into each and every issue is astounding to me. Please let everyone there know how much their work matters.”—Ellen R.