Giving Circles Alliance
The Giving Circles Alliance seeks to promote shared and meaningful giving.
Invite to Giving Circles
Dear Friends,
Many of you might not consider yourself to be a philanthropist, but we invite you to consider -- no matter how much or how little time, expertise or resources you have or are able to give to charitable causes -- how you can be (and probably are already) one. You might want to read ELDR Magazine (July 11, 2007): You Don't Have to Be a Zillionaire to be a Philanthropist, by Leah Dobkin.
Giving Circles -- a form of shared giving and social investment networking -- represent a growing trend in philanthropy as community organizations established by individuals like you all over the U.S. are seeking to have greater involvement in their giving. With most Giving Circles in existence since 2000, there were a total of 400 documented Giving Circles by 20061 and are estimated to total 800 today.2
These individuals, before creating or joining their Giving Circles, were tired of writing checks without knowing what happens with the money, the impact that they are having, or even where they are having that impact. They began to get involved directly by simply pooling their resources, learning about the issues in their local or global communities, and engaging in the decisionmaking process of where their "time, talent and treasures" are donated or granted.
We invite you to read about the broader issues and trends in philanthropy as a whole that are making "Giving Circles" as a model for individual giving more attractive and fulfilling.
Our mission is to assist Giving Circles and other individual donors in making their contributions more meaningful by helping them to better:
Many of you might not consider yourself to be a philanthropist, but we invite you to consider -- no matter how much or how little time, expertise or resources you have or are able to give to charitable causes -- how you can be (and probably are already) one. You might want to read ELDR Magazine (July 11, 2007): You Don't Have to Be a Zillionaire to be a Philanthropist, by Leah Dobkin.
Giving Circles -- a form of shared giving and social investment networking -- represent a growing trend in philanthropy as community organizations established by individuals like you all over the U.S. are seeking to have greater involvement in their giving. With most Giving Circles in existence since 2000, there were a total of 400 documented Giving Circles by 20061 and are estimated to total 800 today.2
These individuals, before creating or joining their Giving Circles, were tired of writing checks without knowing what happens with the money, the impact that they are having, or even where they are having that impact. They began to get involved directly by simply pooling their resources, learning about the issues in their local or global communities, and engaging in the decisionmaking process of where their "time, talent and treasures" are donated or granted.
We invite you to read about the broader issues and trends in philanthropy as a whole that are making "Giving Circles" as a model for individual giving more attractive and fulfilling.
Our mission is to assist Giving Circles and other individual donors in making their contributions more meaningful by helping them to better:
- network among themselves;
- leverage their resources; and
- enhance the impact of their giving.
Please visit us at www.givingcircles.org and consider joining or creating a Giving Circle near you.
1 More Giving Together: The Growth and Impact of Giving Circles and Shared Giving by Jessica E. Bearman, Washington, DC: New Ventures in Philanthropy initiative of the Forum of the Regional Associations of Grantmakers (2007).
2 "Just Causes - The Giving Back Gang" by Linda Daily, Delta Sky Magazine (January 2007).
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