The Growth of Giving Circles

By Heather Chapman (New York City)

In this tough economic time we are all currently experiencing, it can be hard to remember to look beyond our own needs and try and meet those of others. There are solicitations for funds coming at us from all sides; whether it is from someone on a street corner or a mass mailing, we are being bombarded with requests. But when every cent from your paycheck is going to your own needs, how do you continue to help others?

One way is by joining—or forming—a giving circle, which is a form of philanthropy that is made up of people who pool their funds and other resources together to help their community and the people within it. Not a new idea—this idea has existed for hundreds of years—giving circles allow people to donate what they can after deciding together as a group where their funds, time, and energy should go. Most giving circles in the United States and beyond have a social or educational aspect to them; either to help members of their profession, race, or to help the community they live in.

From a survey taken a year ago by the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, there were over 400 giving circles in the United States, although the group believes that there are actually four to five times as many. Most giving circle members are women—slightly more than fifty percent of all giving circles are comprised of women only.

Here in New York, you can find thousands of giving circles, simply by typing in “giving circles New York” in a search engine box. In an effort narrow that list down a bit, I have picked a two to highlight for you.

The first giving circle is The New York Women’s Foundation.

The New York Women’s Foundation® (NYWF®) was established in 1987 as a public philanthropy to be a voice for women and a force for change. From the outset, the founders strove to identify innovative organizations that were truly working to make a difference in the communities they served. The Foundation has thrived on the vision of combining hands-on philanthropy with community-driven projects to address the needs of low-income women and girls. We have seen that, by asking our volunteers and supporters to help search out and fund women-generated projects serving low-income communities, we build partnerships among women who have the resources to give, women who can teach us more about their neighborhoods, and women who are overcoming the challenges of poverty.

Currently, The New York Women’s Foundation raises funds for organizations and programs within the five boroughs of New York that have developed strategies to move low-income women and girls towards long-term economic security in the following areas: community organization and advocacy; economic security and justice; health and sexual rights; the positive development of girls and young women; and safety. More information about this giving circle can be found on their website.

The second giving circle is the Asian Women Giving Circle, which “is a group of women pooling and raising resources to support Asian Americans serving Asian American women-led social change organizations in New York City’s under-served communities.” This group is a local branch of the Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP), which was founded in 1980. (There are currently eight other chapters in cities across the United States.) The Asian Women Giving Circle, like many of the other chapters of the AAPIP, focuses on “building community and creating social justice through programs and projects that combine the arts with activism, and which highlight and promote women’s central role in their leadership, creation, development and management.” The Giving Circle’s Arts and Activism grants focus on “works and projects that advance gender equity in our cultural, artistic, intellectual and political spheres, and that provide a forum for broader discussions of the urgent social justice issues of our day.”

The Asian Women Giving Circle had supported a variety of events and people through their circle, including events like The Up Close & Personal series at the South Asian International Film Festival, shown at the Rubin Museum of Art and the Living Portrait, which was a sponsored event with media artists Heather Greer and Liubo Borissov and composer Woody Pak. The event was an interactive audio-visual installation that gave voice to the women in the Asian immigrant communities who work each day to break the cycle of domestic violence.

The above are just two of the thousands of giving circles found. With a more refined search, one can easily narrow down the results based on professional or individual interests, thus making the philanthropy experience more personal.