USA Goals Study

The Canva Goals Platform was created to better understand the goals people share, and what motivates them to create positive change. By giving people a space to express their hopes for their communities, country, and the world, the platform aims to identify common priorities that can help organizations, leaders, and communities connect around what matters most.

This study builds on that vision, with 15,000+ people across the two studies contributing more than 40,000 goals. Together, these findings reveal not only the goals people care about most, but also the motivations, barriers, and messages that influence whether they turn those aspirations into action. While respondents express concerns about issues ranging from affordability to political division and global conflict, the research finds broad alignment around shared values—like kindness, connection, safety, opportunity, and peace—and highlights that the greatest opportunity is not increasing motivation, but making it easier for people to come together in civility and unity to create positive change.

MORE KEY FINDINGS FROM THE STUDY

Key Finding #1

Though designed to understand which social issues were among the most important for Americans, one surprising theme came through again and again: people want to treat each other better. Across questions about their communities, the country, and the world, respondents consistently point to kindness, respect, safety, unity, peace, and helping others. Even nationally, where respondents acknowledge polarization, the dominant theme isn't political, it's social. People repeatedly return to treating one another with respect and working together, emphasizing the need for civility and a focus on humanity.

1. Top Two Community Goals: Community connection & civic participation (32%), Be kind, welcoming & help/support each other (24%)

2. Top Two National Goals: Government effectiveness & less political division (24%), national security/peace & safety (23%)

3. Top Two Global Goals: Peace, no more wars/fighting (31%), human rights & social justice (23%)

Key Finding #2

The closer they are to an issue, the more people believe they can have an impact toward it. At the local level, people feel more connected (58% local, vs. 54% national, 41% world), more optimistic (64% local, vs. 48% national, 40% world), more influential (48% local, vs. 40% national, 33% world), and, importantly, more willing to act (49% local, vs. 39% national, 31% world). This suggests the opportunity to relate to people through locality (including through local messengers) before expanding outward. 

Key Finding #3

It’s clear from the data that people already care about improving their communities, country, and world, and they believe change is important. Overall, they want more kindness, connection, safety, and unity and believe individuals have a role to play in affecting such change. What's missing, however, is confidence in how to participate. We see this even at the local level, where engagement and connection are highest, as only a quarter (24%) say they’re actively involved in their community. 

1. While many acknowledge the country feels more divided (71%) or polarized (70%) than in the past, they also believe most people want the same basic things (75%), and that improving the country is important (74%). 

2. Among Americans, the biggest barriers aren't apathy. The top barriers to getting involved are based in process, like not knowing where to start (23%) or which organizations to join (19%). They’re also based in beliefs, like doubting their actions will matter (20%) and not seeing enough evidence that progress is possible (18%).