 They're
really making an impact - with mixed results - in the US
Giving
circles, those elusive “little old ladies in tennis shoes” Canadian
FundRaiser wrote about wistfully (CF November
30, 2005), may still be an elusive phenomenon, if they exist at
all, in this country, but south of the border they continue to
increase in numbers and impact on the voluntary sector.
Calling them a “cross between book club and investment group”, Jessica
Bearman of Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers and Angela
Eikenberry of Virginia Tech say they pool and give
away personal resources, educate and engage members, provide a
social dimension for their members, and are independent of any
formal body. There are apparently 400 of them (identified)
across the country in 45 states.
Reporting to the International Fundraising Conference of
the Association of Fundraising Professionals on a 2006
survey of 160 of those giving circles, the speakers say they
found they engaged more than 11,687 donors, had raised more than
$83 million and had granted more than $63 million, more than $12
million of it in 2006.
Range in size, organization
What makes this new phenomenon hard to get your arms around
is that giving circles come in all shapes and sizes – small
groups, loose networks, formal organizations – ranging from tiny
to huge, from formal structure to very unstructured, with
diverse thresholds for financial and engagement commitment, and
hosted or unhosted.
They tend to think local, the speakers say, with 79% funding
within their communities, 9% within their state, both small
grassroots and well-established organizations.
Funding priorities are likely to be women and girls, education
and youth development, health and nutrition, community
improvement, and arts and culture.
Among their impacts on their members, according to the speakers,
are that they: demystify philanthropy; leverage resources to
make a difference; teach about issues, needs, and organizations
in the community; result in members giving and volunteering
beyond the giving circle, and make giving more informed,
thoughtful, focussed and strategic.
A typical nonprofit receiving funds from a giving circle,
Bearman and Eikenberry suggest, is small and locally-based, has
a proven track record of filling a need in the community but was
probably started in the past five years, is undergoing a
transition period, and has an Executive Director in the mid-30s
to early 40s, who may well have started the organization.
Giving circles provide multi-dimensional support, they note.
It’s very much about relationship-building and can be more
personal, fun, and less formal than other types of philanthropy.
Value-added elements
The value-added elements beyond funding may include
volunteers and in-kind resources, connections and access to
networks and new resources, a seal of community approval, and a
convening of funding recipients.
All is not butter and roses, however. The relationship can be
more complicated – it’s typically short-term, unpredictable,
donor-driven funding (flavour of the month giving), and there
can be a lack of transparency, with individual members being
difficult to identify and contact.
Giving circle funding is “not necessarily transformational”, say
Bearman and Eikenberry, if there is no value-added beyond
funding. Also, the circle members sometimes don’t “get it”, and
dealing with them can be time-consuming and unpredictable.
In summary, the speakers say, “be ready for giving circles”:
understand the changing structure of fundraising/philanthropy;
be aware of the existence of giving circles in your community
(Ed. note: if you can find them); find a champion in the giving
circle; be “out there”, build awareness of your organization and
if possible join a circle to become part of the network; be
ready to respond when you are “found”.
“But also be cautious.”
For more information: Jessica Bearman,
Consultant, Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers,
info@givingforum.org;
Angela M. Eikenberry, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech,
540/231-6946, aeik@vt.edu. |
