Join A Giving Circle (Now? Yes, now!)

A giving circle is a group of people who pool their donations, because together we can make a bigger impact with our donations than we can do alone.

Each giving circle is focused on a specific cause. Members are located throughout the U.S., contribute $25/month, and can nominate and/or vote for their favorite charities online.

Together we’re donating hundreds and thousands of dollars to the causes we care about most.

That’s not asking too much is it? Nope! I used to ask…

What happens to my donation after I send it?

Who should I donate to?

Does my small donation even matter?

If you wonder those things, too, then you’re in the right place. We believe that donating money matters– even a little bit of money matters. But we’re all busy people with multiple demands on our time (you know, things like jobs and families).

In a giving circle, we leverage our time, our money, our intellectual resources, so that we not only make BIG group donations, but we make SMART donations in very little time.

Being part of a group that makes bigger and better donations for the causes you care about most feels good! Really good. Damn Good. Trust me. Give it a try.

Giving circles are a wonderful way to donate money and lots of people are doing it. In fact, nationwide, there are about 800 giving circles donating over $100 million each year. If you’ve been thinking about joining a giving circle, here are 10 reasons why you should!

1. You’ll Make A Bigger Impact on the Non-Profit

   We pool our donation with the donations of lots of other people. As a result, our donation will be much larger than what we could do or wanted to do alone. A larger donation to a non-profit means that they will have more money to do their important work.

2. You’ll Make a Bigger Impact on the Problem

   We incorporate education into our giving circle activities, so that our donation committee can research organizations and the programs they’re implementing for efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. We work hard for our money and we want our money to work hard, too!

3. You’ll Choose a Better Non-Profit

   Not all non-profits are created equal. Some are doing amazing work, maximizing every dollar spent, and making a huge impact on the problem. Others struggle with organizational efficiency, have high operating costs, paying large salaries for fund raisers and CEO’s, and, in a few circumstances, can be committing fraud and embezzlement. We’ll often call our non-profits to speak with a founder or executive. It’s amazing what you can discover about their passion and their organization from a phone call.

4. You’ll Save Time

   You’re just one person with a busy schedule. But when lots of people come together to support the same cause, you’re leveraging the time of all our members. That means you can always feel great about how you donate while you focus on your work, your family, and your friends.

5. You’ll Have Permission to Say No to Other Requested Donations

   How many requests do you get for a donation? I’d say I have 3 emails every day, one or 2 that arrive in snail mail every week, one or two Facebook friends running a marathon a month, and mountains of requests during the holidays. But I know that I donate through my giving circle, because I can be confident that my donation is making the biggest impact possible on the causes that I care about, so I can politely decline. What a relief!

6. You’ll Get Peace of Mind that You’re Giving Back

   Before I joined a giving circle, I would really want to donate money. But I was busy, and I never could find the time to make the donations that I wanted. I would always have a little voice in the back of my head reminding me of my guilt and that I needed to give back more! But now, I know exactly how and how much I’m giving. I feel good about it, and that little voice in my head has nothing to say!

7. You Won’t Have To Worry About the End of Year Donation Rush

   December is the largest month for donations, that means non-profits send out massive amounts of requests for donations. If you’re like me, I would know that I needed to donate this year, so I would flip through the catalogs, read the requests, and make the difficult choices about where and how much I could donate. It’s kind of like putting my expenses together for my tax returns. Sure, I could do a little every month, and then it’s nice and easy. But instead I sit down in March and spend hours going through my paperwork.

   A giving circle can be your annual giving plan. You know how much you’ll be donating. You’ll know that the non-profits will be well chosen. And if you want to give more at the end of the year, then you can choose to browse those catalogs or you can choose to send more to a non-profit we’ve chosen in the past. An end of year donation is your choice to pursue or not at your pleasure!

8. You’ll Enjoy Donating More

   I speak with people all across the country about their giving circle and they all tell me the same thing: a giving circle is a profoundly rewarding way to donate money. It’s more fun, because you’re sharing the experience with other people like you who care about the same cause that you care about. The relationships and friendships created in a giving circle are a big reason why many people across the country continue to participate in giving circles year after year.

9. You’ll Donate More

   When I waited until the end of the year to choose where to donate, invariably I had less to donate than I would have liked. The end of the year happens right after Christmas after all! So, I would look at my budget and squeeze in what I felt I could do and maybe a little more, because I felt I should. With a giving circle, donating is part of my monthly budget just like my other monthly expenses. Setting it up to be a little at a time means that overall, I’ll give more money than I would have done at the end of the year, but it feels like less!

10. You’ll Discover New Non-Profits

    There are an estimated 1.5 million non-profits in the US. How many can you think of right now? 10? 20? Maybe 50? It’s easy to get in a rut and only see the same few organizations, but there are lots of great organizations doing great work, and you’ll be exposed to non-profits across the country that you would otherwise never hear about. It’s fun and exciting to learn about these organizations!