A couple of years ago, Reuters Wealth Editor Lauren Young invited me to attend a panel discussion she was hosting for the Financial Women’s Association. Entitled “Matching Impact and Purpose through Personal Philanthropy,” the session featured speakers from the worlds of giving and finance. RoseComm works with several clients from the nonprofit sector, so we know a good bit about the ins and outs of philanthropy. But up until that event, I didn’t know about a concept called giving circles.
And I wasn’t alone. The speakers led an interesting discourse about the power of making a larger donation (read: impact) and the challenges associated with agreeing on a single recipient. I left that session thinking about whether joining a giving circle would enable me to find greater purpose in my own giving. When a woman I know in my community reached out last summer to ask me if I’d consider joining her giving circle, I knew I had to give it a look.
Impact100 Essex is part of a network of groups across the country all with the same mission: Bring together women to amplify the impact of their giving and empower solutions for the community. I was able to get my donation in just before the beginning of the 2020 grant-giving cycle. Earlier this week, we announced the recipient of our $100,000 gift as well as three $15,000 donations for the runners-up.
With that experience under my belt, I wanted to share the top reasons to join a giving circle in your community.
- Collective giving makes a bigger, more tangible impact. When you can see exactly how your contribution will be used in a meaningful and measurable way, it gives you a sense of purpose. In a giving circle, your combined donation enables the grantee to create entirely new programs or invest in new infrastructure to address the community’s most pressing needs.
- Learn about your community and the good work being done. I sat on a grant review committee, which gave me the opportunity to judge proposals from six organizations — everything from criminal justice reform to equity in education. It opened my mind to learn more about the issues and the organizations serving our communities as well as to hear perspectives from my fellow committee members.
- Network with caring, committed women. As the name suggests, there are 100+ women involved in the group and, although it was all over Zoom, I valued the opportunity to meet other women from myriad walks of life who are as committed to giving back as I am. I look forward to meeting them in person soon.
- Open your eyes to your own biases. People often give to causes they know/understand or because a friend or family member asked for their support. We attended an anti-bias training prior to reviewing the proposals to make sure we did not allow our own life experiences to influence or limit what we deemed worthy.
- Be inspired. In a normal year, each review committee picks a top proposal and then there’s an event where the remaining organizations present prior to a final vote. This year, each grantee prepared a video and we voted online. The winner was revealed during a Zoom ceremony. Who couldn’t use a little extra inspiration during these tough times? Check out the winning video from Prevent Child Abuse NJ!
How do you find purpose in your charitable giving? Maybe a giving circle is right for you.