What is a Giving Circle? How Individuals Unite to Affect Change
In a paradigm shift from the traditional idea that philanthropy is reserved for billionaires, giving circles are powerful vehicles for collective impact. The power of many donors working as one impacts nonprofit organizations and causes for the better. This inclusive approach also enables individuals from diverse backgrounds to pool their resources and foster a sense of community. Read on for ways to operate a giving circle and make a meaningful change.
Contrary to stories about Bill Gates and Elon Musk, philanthropy isn’t just for billionaires. Giving circles empower ordinary individuals to make an impact on the issues they care about. With over 2,500 active giving circles open to anyone, these groups redefine charitable giving.
Circles of giving can raise funds from members and the larger community to raise funds for a cause, spread information, and determine the best route to make a significant difference. While many circles raise funds exclusively from members,52% of giving circles raise funds from other sources through corporate matching gifts, community and private foundations, and other donors.
In this article, we’ll share what makes a giving circle, how they can fundraise, and how nonprofit organizations can help these groups raise more money.
Giving Circles Defined
Giving circles have effectively replaced the traditional belief that you can’t be a philanthropist unless you have a significant amount of money. Currently, there are over 2,500 active circles of giving that anyone can join. TheGiving Circle Directory lists each group along with the required location, interests, and average donation amount.
These groups allow individuals from every walk of life to make a significant difference in the world. Most of these groups are developed based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. Giving circles allow these individuals to combine their efforts and make a greater impact.
How Circles of Giving Work
In an age of donor-centered fundraising, giving circles have become a popular trend that allows individuals to make a more significant impact regardless of their financial status. Most nonprofit supporters donate reactively after receiving mail, email, or social media solicitations or while attending a fundraising event. On the other hand, circles of giving are an example of proactive donating.
Giving circles can be made up of families, co-workers, community members, etc. The group can collect funds from its members before passing the money raised on to a selected nonprofit or set of nonprofits. After donating, the circle often forms long-term partnerships with these nonprofit organizations and plays a long-term role in addressing their common cause.
For example, the Global Sojourns Giving Circle “directly supports projects and programs that empower and educate African girls. They have hosted several fundraising campaigns – like this one – to spread awareness and garner support for this cause and the nonprofits that serve it.
Steps to Creating a Giving Circle
Want to start a circle of giving? There are seven primary steps to forming one of these collectives.
1. Connection
The first step is gathering individuals from all walks and phases of life who care about a joint mission or cause. Since many giving circles inspire involvement from marginalized individuals, the causes they contribute to follow similar trends. Many groups support causes like:
The group can learn about various issues affecting organizations that raise funds for this cause. Once they understand more about the mission, the giving circle can determine the best course of action and make decisions to strengthen their impact and advocate for change.
3. Choosing a nonprofit
Finding a cause is often only the first step. There are likely hundreds of nonprofit organizations that strive to address each issue. As a giving circle educates itself and determines the best way to use its money, it can choose a nonprofit organization (or several organizations) that best fits its needs.
4. Raising funds
Giving circles can raise funds from members in various ways, including fundraising events, membership fees, online campaigns, and more. Some circles have minimum giving amounts and more structured systems for joining the group and voting on which organization receives funds. Others are formed by informal collections of donations during events or other fundraising activities.
Many circles of giving use fundraising platforms like Donorbox to raise critical support for the nonprofits they serve. Take a look at how the Aurora Women’s Giving Circle uses an online donation form to help working women affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many giving circles will raise funds and distribute them through grants to organizations that match the group’s mission and cause. Others may simply collect contributions from their members and send them to an organization simultaneously.
6. Establishing long-term support
A giving circle’s support for an organization is rarely a one-time event. As the group forms a stronger relationship with the organization, members of the collective may volunteer or join as members of the nonprofit organization. The group may also hold additional third-party events or volunteer activities to support the organization or advocate for the cause.
7. Increasing impact
Circles of giving can combine with other circles to create a giving network. These groups may have shared interests, locations, and individual members. Currently, there are more than a dozen giving networks covering almost 1,000 giving circles. By joining forces with other groups, these networks can raise more money for a cause and increase its impact on how nonprofit organizations use their funds.
Next, we’ll take a look at more ways circles of giving can make an impact through fundraising.
How Giving Circles Can Fundraise
Giving circles are not required to follow a specific fundraising system. This provides flexibility throughout their relationship with the nonprofit organization (or organizations) they choose to support. As we’ve discussed, these groups may collect membership dues or donations from their members. They may also hold third-party events or campaigns to raise funds from members and community members.
There are also a few ways nonprofits can help giving circles raise more funds to support their cause, no matter how they plan to collect donations.
Third-party fundraising events
A third-party fundraising event is when any external company or group of individuals holds a fundraiser to raise money for an organization. Giving circles can hold varioustypes of fundraisers, including raffles and auctions, fun runs, galas, and family-friendly activities. Nonprofits can make the process of running a third-party event easier by sharing the following details and marketing pieces with these groups –
Nonprofits may also choose to market these third-party events on their own platforms, further spreading the word and increasing donations.
Pro tip: Encourage giving circles you partner with to sell tickets for their event using an online ticket sales platform like Donorbox Events. This all-in-one ticketing tool makes it easy to create multiple ticket tiers, boost sales with promo codes, check guests in at the event, and more. Learn more and get started with this guide.
Peer-to-Peer campaigns
Peer-to-peer campaigns can be a simple way for giving circles to share their passion with the world and raise funds for an organization. Nonprofits can make this easier by signing up with an online fundraising tool like Donorbox that offers peer-to-peer fundraising.
The organization can ensure the success of peer-to-peer fundraisers with:
Corporate matching donations are the easiest way to double a giving circle’s gifts. Individuals who work for businesses that offer matching gifts for their donations or volunteer hours can take advantage of this employee perk with a few simple clicks.
Nonprofits can make it even easier for donors to have their gifts matched with the Donorbox + Double the Donation integration. A list of companies offering employee gift matching is built into your donation form and donors are provided with the quick steps they need to make to complete the matching process.
Educational and public awareness campaigns
One of the best ways for a giving circle to advocate for a cause and organization is with an educational or public awareness campaign. Groups can collect materials from nonprofits to educate the public and spread awareness with hosted workshops, webinars, and events. Nonprofits can provide marketing brochures, white papers, beneficiary stories, and videos to make these campaigns more compelling to the community.
Pro tip: While the purpose of these campaigns and events isn’t primarily fundraising, many people will give if you make it easy. Use a donation kiosk – like the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app – to easily collect cashless donations with credit cards, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.
Bonus Resource: Listen to the Nonprofit Podcast – 3 special guests from Global Sojourns Giving Circle, who put gratitude at the top of their list today, and every day, share their wisdom!
Conclusion
Collective impact makes philanthropy accessible to anyone and transcends the limitations of individual giving. Giving circles do more than simply give money to an organization. Many of these groups form long-term partnerships, volunteer, and advocate for the cause.
Nonprofits can significantly benefit from these relationships by developing a simple system to follow, providing marketing and educational material, and taking the time to personally connect and thank circles of giving for their efforts.
If you’re looking for ways to support giving circles and other third-party supporters, Donorbox has several online fundraising tools to make it easier for both.
Check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog and sign up for our e-newsletter to receive more fundraising tips and resources.
Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
Kristine Ensor
