We are a proud sponsor of We Give Summit: A Celebration of Collective Giving! There is so much power in giving with others! As advocates for collective giving, let’s come together! Hosted by Philanthropy Together and more than a dozen giving circle networks, we invite you to hear from dozens of speakers on everything from connecting with the next generation of givers to embedding racial equity into your giving circle to building a movement across four weeks in May.
Week 1 of the We Give Summit is completely free to attend! You can choose to purchase an All-Access Pass to gain access to all four weeks of content AND, if you purchase by April 8, you’ll receive a Swag Box in the mail. Register today using code GROWFUND at wegivesummit.org.
January 22, 2021 12:53 pmPublished by growfund_adminComments Off on Changes to Growfund’s Policy on Paper Checks and Tax Letters
Re: Changes to Growfund paper checks and tax letter policy effective March 1
To the Growfund donor community,
We at Growfund are committed to democratizing philanthropy for everyday donors; enabling individuals, organizations and giving circles to connect with over 1.8 million nonprofits on our platform. Our ultimate goal is to get more funds out to charity. We do that by continuing to offer features of higher priced donor-advised funds (DAFs) to our everyday givers with no minimum gifting requirements or account opening fees, allowing Growfunders to designate grants to whichever U.S. charity or giving circle they choose, along with continuing to offer investment options and other added value features.
Due to changes exacerbated by COVID-19, we want to encourage our contributors to donate by electronic means in order to reduce risks and processing times that accompany paper and manual processing.
In that vein, the following policy changes for Growfund giving circle contributors will be effective March 1: – We will continue to accept giving circle contributions by electronic methods (credit card and e-check) or inter-account transfer. We will no longer accept giving circle contributions by paper check. – We will continue to accept paper checks from registered individual Growfund users. Paper checks under $5000 designated to individual Growfund accounts will be assessed a $20 processing fee. We will continue to offer the option for e-checks and credit card contributions for all contributors. Individually registered Growfund users will also have the option to contribute via wire transfers and transfers from external DAFs. – We will require giving circle contributors to register for a free Growfund account if they would like to have access to tax letters for 2021 or any other of the features we offer, including statements and external DAF transfers. It’s free to open a Growfund account, and there is no minimum contribution requirement! Please take advantage or the opportunity and register to access all contributions, distributions, statements, and tax letter history in your dashboard. If you’d like to mail a paper check for deposit into your Growfund account, please do so before March 1. There are no fees to open and no minimum requirement. You can also easily make inter-account transfers to any giving circle of your choice. Open an individual Growfund account today.
View our updated fee schedule. Fees for electronic methods of payment remain unchanged; all fees are applicable as of March 1, 2021 and will help us streamline the contributions and distributions process.
We recognize all of the great contributions our individuals, organizations and giving circles are making to charities during this time of need. Please help us continue streamlining our services during these unprecedented times so we can distribute more funds to charity.
We look forward to working more closely with you! Thank you for being part of the Growfund community.
Best Regards, Melissa Cortes Director, Collective Giving Please get in touch with us at [email protected]
November 6, 2020 9:42 amPublished by growfund_adminComments Off on What No-Minimum Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) Could Mean For The Future of Philanthropy – Co-authored by Melissa Cortes, Director of Collective Giving at Global Impact and Nathaniel Heller, VP at Geneva Global
The recent news that Fidelity was zeroing out its previous $5,000 minimum investment for Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) was big news in the giving world. DAFs – which allow both “everyday” donors as well as ultra-high net worth philanthropists to more easily move philanthropic capital to charitable causes – have become one of the most popular giving vehicles in recent years for a host of reasons.
They offer immediate tax benefits to donors, avoid some of the more onerous compliance requirements associated with operating private foundations, and provide anonymity in a way that private foundations often cannot. Those advantages are precisely the same issues around which an emerging chorus of DAF critique has emerged. Critics accuse DAFs of facilitating tax write-offs for the wealthy without requiring actual disbursements to charitable organizations, while simultaneously allowing donors to shield their true philanthropic intent from public view.
With the likelihood that other large wealth managers and banks will follow Fidelity’s decision and lower their respective bars to entry for DAFs to no-minimum, what does this shift potentially mean for the broader giving space moving forward? Will the net effects be positive, with thousands of new everyday donors rushing to establish DAFs and unlocking greater giving at an aggregate level? Or will DAFs remain the purview of only the truly wealthy? Our experience building and running Growfund, the world’s first no-minimum DAF, suggests that the answers are more nuanced than a simple “good” or “bad” take.
The appeal of DAFs to (everyday) donors
Among its most important aspects are the ability of donors to reap immediate tax benefits once they shift capital to a DAF while still taking as much time as needed to decide on actual disbursements to charitable organizations; the ability to “brand” one’s DAF with an impressive sounding title (e.g. “The Nathaniel Heller Charitable Foundation”); and the ability to give with greater anonymity relative to traditional private foundations (DAFs are not subject to public disclosure requirements reporting whose capital funds the DAF, so the “Nathaniel Heller Charitable Foundation” might actually be funded by Melissa’s wealth!). Depending on your perspective, those same advantages can be cause for concern: opponents argue that many DAF dollars go into accounts but never go out to charitable organizations, and anonymity is viewed by some as a way for the wealthy to shield their giving from public scrutiny. See the #HalfMyDAF initiative as a good example of the emerging push to ensure that more dollars eventually flow from DAFs to actual charitable organizations.
Based on what we’ve seen during the past several years building Growfund, as well as work with other partners and clients, our hunch is that the market’s move to a no-minimum standard for DAFs is likely a net positive – but this may only go so far in guaranteeing an influx of new philanthropic dollars to charitable organizations’ operating accounts.
Taking advantage of a no-minimum DAF
Do no-minimum DAF options encourage and potentially motivate increased giving? In our experience, yes, and particularly for the cohort known as the “mass affluent.” These are wealthier families and individuals with a material amount of discretionary giving power but also distinct from High Net Worth (HNW) and Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) donors. The mass affluent may give in the thousands or tens of thousands, while donors in the (U)HNW categories tend to cluster closer to the six-figure range.
For the mass affluent and their Giving Circles (another new giving innovation that encourages family and friends to give together in a pooled fashion), we do expect the lower bar of no-minimum DAFs to encourage greater philanthropic investments. Whereas (U)HNW donors are likely less sensitive to a minimum bar of $5,000, getting rid of that hurdle will absolutely help the next tier of donors think more strategically and proactively about their philanthropy. Put another way: if you were on the fence about establishing a DAF because of a minimum initial investment, the shift towards no-minimum DAFs could very much incentivize you to pull the trigger. We thus expect the volume of DAF accounts to increase in the coming years while the average assets in those accounts to potentially decrease as small-dollar DAF accounts come online. The trend in lower account values for DAFs has been well documented by organizations like Giving Tuesday and the National Philanthropic Trust (NPT), whose research shows that the average size of DAF accounts has decreased by 30% year over year from 2017 to 2018. This, coupled with a 55% increase in the total number of DAF accounts, suggests that there is indeed an appetite for lower minimum option DAFs.
Do more DAFs = greater giving?
The million-dollar question, of course, is whether the lowering of the bar to DAF entry will actually stimulate a greater outflow of dollars from DAF accounts to charitable organizations. Here, we’re not as certain that the shift to a no-minimum DAF marketplace will affect actual disbursements. The core appeal of DAFs has less to do with facilitating the actual act or moment of giving. The advent of philanthropic technology platforms in the past decade that offer near instantaneous donations to almost any credible charitable organization has meant that giving is, in a word, easy for most donors. DAFs don’t necessarily accelerate the act of giving or offer anything unique relative to clicking on a “donate” button on an organization’s website, choosing a pre-vetted charity from DonorsChoose or GlobalGiving, or using Benevity or Salesforce Philanthropy Cloud to help your employees give to causes.
The big difference between DAFs and all of those other options is the immediate tax benefit that donors reap as soon as dollars are transferred (irrevocably) into a DAF. If you need or want a tax write-off right now or would rather “pay a charity than pay the government [in taxes],” you’re wise to move funds into a DAF rather than have them sit in your checking account while you decide which charity listed on an online charitable platform is the right one to support. So again, DAFs work to tee up the potential for greater giving and in some cases provide unique incentives for triggering that greater giving (e.g. their ability to accept non-cash assets and contributions, which otherwise would have little potential philanthropic benefit). But the establishment of DAF accounts doesn’t automatically translate into actual greater giving; the donor still needs to separately commit to moving funds and assets out of the DAF and into the hands of charitable organizations.
Looking ahead, it’s this last-mile challenge that intrigues us the most. If indeed the rush to a no-minimum DAF ecosystem primes the charitable pump with a significant influx of mass affluent dollars into DAFs, how do we get them out in greater volume to maximize the potential for positive social impact? Here, the discussions around a minimum annual DAF spend/disbursement percentage strike us as valid and important. At the same time, we wonder whether changes to the way tax benefits are afforded to DAFs should also be part of the discussion. What would happen if donors received 50% of their DAF tax benefit upon contributing to their DAF with the other 50% coming only after dollars have been disbursed to charitable organizations, for example? While we don’t trivialize the complexity associated with potential changes to the tax code, some sort of shift in incentives towards greater giving to charitable organizations out of DAFs – while still supporting the existing incentive structure that encourages moving dollars into DAFs to begin with – feels important.
This is where collective giving might be a bridge. Preliminary data from Growfund suggests that donors engaged in Giving Circles have a higher payout rate than the average. Growfund’s Giving Circles pay out in the range of 70%+ on average; this compares with an average payout rate of DAFs at national charities of 22% (according to NPT). In the absence of any changes to the tax code, it may be that collective giving, or Giving Circles, may be a way to encourage donors across the philanthropic spectrum to give more out of their DAFs. This is the sort of positive peer pressure we can get behind.
This post was co-authored by Nathaniel Heller, Vice President and Managing Director at Global Impact’s subsidiary company Geneva Global, and Melissa Cortes, Director of Collective Giving at Global Impact
June 30, 2020 11:32 amPublished by growfund_adminComments Off on Women Give 2020
Technology has disrupted nearly every aspect of society – and philanthropy is no exception. Giving, which increasingly takes place online, brings new challenges, from building trust to establishing a greater sense of online and offline community. Women are both more likely to give, and more likely to engage online and on social media. Women Give 2020 explores the intersection of gender, technology, and giving, to better understand how women and men use tech for good.
As we celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, one of my favorite holidays of the year, I couldn’t help myself from finding links to one of my favorite growing philanthropic trends: giving circles.
Giving circles, part of the general category of collective giving, are groups of donors who pool their resources – be it time, talent or treasure – and decide as a group where they want to use those resources to make an impact. For example, a circle may consist of 10 friends who each pitch in $100 every quarter and meet up over dinner to choose where to donate. Often, circles form around identity groups within geographies, such as women of a particular county or LBGTQ+ activists of a city. Giving circles are an amazing tool to encourage donors to have fun while expanding awareness of different causes, increasing their charitable giving and making a real difference.
Now that we’re up to speed, what do giving circles have to do with St. Patrick’s Day? Let me tell you:
Commitment to making a difference St. Patrick’s life story can get a little lost in the holiday celebrations we are accustomed to today, but St. Patrick was a real person who lived a remarkable life that he dedicated to making a difference. Born in Britain around A.D. 420, at the age of 16, Patrick was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave. After six years of forced labor, Patrick escaped back to Britain. He did not take his freedom for granted once reunited with his wealthy family though: He returned to Ireland and dedicated his life to serving others, supporting the growing Irish Christian minority, condemning persecution by the British government, and advocating against slavery.
The link to giving circles comes from Patrick’s work to bring others along with him on his quest to positively impact the world. He connected with communities and shared his vision, inspiring them to become change makers as well. Forming a giving circle is a way to introduce friends to a new side of philanthropy and for your entire group to share in a journey of giving and making a difference. While lots of mythology also surrounds his life (it’s unlikely that there were ever any snakes in Ireland), his example of committing to what you believe in can inspire any donor.
St. Patrick’s Day symbols and how they relate to giving circles.
Parades: Parades can be a great analogy for giving circles. Each float offers its own presentation and energy. The parade would be boring if each group was the same, and the variety of viewpoints makes for a cohesive and enjoyable whole.
This variety is the same thing that makes giving circles so exciting. Even in circles that are based around a central factor, like women business leaders or religiously grounded circles, each member brings a unique viewpoint that enriches the whole. By embracing these differences and learning from your giving circle peers, you can turn your philanthropy from a solitary walk to a full-blown parade!
Four-leaf clover: A four-leaf clover is one of the classic symbols of the luck of the Irish. It really does take a fair amount of luck to find one, it is estimated that only 1 clover in every 10,000 has four leaves. In the context of the holiday, a four-leaf clover is used to add some festive pizazz to decorations and clothing – and to make everyone feel a little extra lucky!
While a four-leaf clover might help, a member of a giving circle does not have to wait for good luck to make a change they want to see. If you have been wishing for the longest time that the local arts center could host more shows or that the garden in the schoolyard could get a refresh, you don’t have to wait for some lucky coincidence to make your goals happen. Being part of a giving circle means you get to make your own luck! Even if your donations alone could not sponsor a whole new garden, by pooling resources with your friends and sharing your passion with them, you can inspire real and impactful changes in your community – no luck (or four-leaf clover) needed.
Pot of gold: One of the most enduring images from the mythology around St. Patrick’s Day is the pot of gold. We know that leprechauns like to keep their stash safely at the end of the rainbow, but where should your circle hold onto its funds? Determining where to keep the pooled funds can be a logistical challenge for giving circles of any size. Having one member hold the funds is a lot of responsibility and extra work for that individual, and finding institutional partners can be expensive and inconvenient. Luckily (you see what I did there??), there is a solution.
Growfund for Giving Circles offers a no-minimum donor-advised fund platform that can allows your circle to economically and easily collect its funds in a single online tool, empower members to contribute directly to the pool and facilitates grantmaking to any nonprofit organization. Growfund for Giving Circles can take the stress of money management out of your giving circle experience, allowing you to focus on what drew you to your circle in the first place: the GIVING. Visit MyGrowfund.org to learn more!
April 26, 2019 7:47 amPublished by growfund_adminComments Off on Partner Release: As Popularity of Giving Circles has Tripled, Historic Gathering of American Giving Circle Networks Co-Designs Vision for Scaling & Strengthening the Movement Further
Seattle, Washington (April 26, 2019) –
Supported by a lead grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 19 other funders, 82 participants from dozens of American giving circles and giving circle networks came together for a historic gathering in Seattle, Washington to connect with and learn from each other, and to build a vision for amplifying, strengthening and scaling giving circles across the United States.
Recent studies by the Collective Giving Research Group demonstrates that giving circles have exploded in popularity in America, and that they offer a way to meaningfully engage people in giving and in investing in their communities. A recent report from the Lilly School of Philanthropy found that giving circles tripled In number from 2007 to 2017, to 1,500, and have donated as much as $1.29 billion in that time.
“Giving circles are a major part of the future of American philanthropy,” said Marsha Morgan, chair of the Community Investment Network, one of the 5 networks co-leading the initiative. “Neighbors, friends, family, church and synagogue members – these are all ‘everyday givers.’ People are coming together, pooling their money, networks, and expertise, and investing in the change they want to make in the world. Giving circles are democratizing and diversifying philanthropy, and engaging tens of thousands of people in shaping their communities.”
The gathering marked a milestone within a year-long “co-design” process for the giving circle movement, shepherded by five Giving Circle Networks: Amplifier (a network of circles inspired by Jewish values), Asian Women Giving Circle, Catalist (formerly the Women’s Collective Giving Grantmakers Network), Community Investment Network (a network of African American circles), and the Latino Community Foundation (a network of Latinx circles). The co-design process is engaging dozens of giving circle leaders, networks, and stakeholders to collectively design ways to strengthen and expand the giving circle movement.
The process itself reflects the collaborative spirit of giving circles: dozens of diverse stakeholders from across the giving circle movement, from different communities and affinity groups, with different funding areas and approaches, are joining forces to design the common strategy and tactics needed to support the growth and sustainability of giving circles nationwide. Together, participants represented thousands of people already in giving circles who believe in the power of collective giving and are changing the face and the future of philanthropy.
“My favorite part of the gathering was hearing the stories of hope and impact that so many giving circle leaders shared about their communities,” said Paula Liang, Chair Elect of Catalist, a network of 68 women’s funding groups. “There is a rich history of generosity and collective action in all of our communities and throughout American history, and this project can help us move that work forward while opening it up to so many more people. Joining a giving circle makes your giving more informed, more influential, and more impactful.”
Giving Circle membership also leads to greater civic engagement. Dr. Anthony C. Hood, a member of the Birmingham Change Fund giving circle and Director of Civic Innovation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told the story of the current Mayor of the City of Birmingham, Alabama, Randall Woodfin who is the youngest mayor in the city in 100 years. Woodfin’s first step into civic involvement was as a member of the Birmingham Change Fund, which exposed him to the issues facing his community and the civic pathways to addressing them.
Masha Chernyak, VP of Programs at the Latino Community Foundation, shared the story of Martin Vargas Vega, a child of farm-workers parents in Watsonville, California, who joined the Latinos in Tech Giving Circle with his first tech job. Vargas Vega is launching another giving circle with Latino leaders in his hometown. “We are helping to reclaim philanthropy for the Latino immigrant community and grounding the work in love and justice,” said Chernyak.
Over the two-day convening, leaders shared ideas and resources for a field-wide infrastructure that will help inspire more grassroots philanthropy, strengthen communities, and increase American giving overall. The vision includes:
Launching a major awareness campaign to make giving circles a household name within American communities
Developing more resources and training programs to diversify and democratize philanthropy
Creating an innovative incubator program to enable people to create and sustain new giving circles
Supporting new technology to make it easier for circles to connect with one another and with grantees
Hosting national and regional gatherings to bring the movement together.
### Participants Included: Giving Circle Networks:
100 Who Care Alliance
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy
American Muslim Fund
Amplifier
Awesome Foundation
Catalist
Community Investment Network
Dining for Women
Giving Project Learning Community
Hmong Impact Giving Circle
Inspired Women Paying It Forward Network
Jewish Teen Funders Network
Latino Giving Circle Network / Latino Community Foundation
Social Venture Partners International
Women’s Giving Circles Internationa
Individual Giving Circles:
The Arev Fund
Asian American Impact Fund
Asian Women Giving Circle
Birmingham Change Fund
Denver African American Philanthropists
For Her: A Black Women Giving Movement for Black Girls
Full Circle Fund
Latino Giving Circle San Diego
Latinos in Tech
Natan
Next Generation of African American Philanthropists
Orchid Giving Circle
Peninsula Latina Giving Circle
The Philanthropy Connection
RadFund
The SAM Initiative
Shared Nation
Women’s Catalytic Fund
Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County
Young and Dangerous Giving Circle Fund / Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Supporting Institutions & Thought Leaders:
Bank of America
California Community Foundation
Civic Spirit
Collective Giving Research Group / Johnson Center for Philanthropy
Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
#GivingTuesday
Global Impact
Jewish Community Federation
Justice Funders
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Learning by Giving
The Leighty Foundation
LM Strategies Consulting
The Lodestar Foundation
The New York Women’s Foundation
Oregon Jewish Community Foundation
The Raikes Foundation
Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
Schwab Charitable
Seattle Foundation
SKR Advisors
Washington Women’s Foundation
Women’s Philanthropy Institute
20 Funders Co-Invested in this Process:Institutional Funders:
May 9, 2018 10:02 amPublished by growfund_adminComments Off on Reaching Across the Aisle: How Giving Circles Can Bridge People with Political, Economic, Ethnic, & Religious Differences
By Lindsay Bressman
Lindsay Bressman currently facilitates a Parents Giving Circle at Hannah Senesh Community Day School, co-facilitates a 7+ year old virtual giving circle with 30+ members in memory of a dear friend, and will be facilitating a Brooklyn-based Pop Up Giving Circle focused on supporting refugees and funded through UJA-Federation.
Reaching Across the Aisle: How Giving Circles Can Bridge People with Political, Economic, Ethnic, & Religious Differences
Situation: You have $50 to donate. As usual, you can give this money towards any cause that you deem most pressing, to any organization that you trust to address a societal issue in a way that mirrors your values, politics, and philosophy.
Now, imagine you are part of a team, and instead of $50, you have $5,000 to give away. The caveat? You are not the only person making decisions; the members of this so-called group must come to an agreement on where to distribute the shared financial gift.
This is the model of a modern-day giving circle. Giving circles represent an approach to philanthropy that has historic roots in mutual aid societies (e.g. Freemasons or Habitat for Humanity), but in recent years has grown in accessibility, popularity, and impact.
In Angela M. Eikenberry and Jessica Bearman’s meta-analysis of this movement, the authors found data to indicate that when people participate in giving circles, they give at higher amounts, they are more intentional about their giving, and they engage more deeply with their communities.
Essentially, in a giving circle, a group of individuals come together and contribute an amount of money to a pooled fund, leveraging small payments into a larger, more impactful gift. Over the course of one or multiple meetings, the circle engages in dialogue to identify shared morals, to debate the merits of varying approaches to societal issues, and to select–cooperatively–a recipient of the group’s larger donation.
Joelle Berman, the Executive Director of Amplifier, a giving circle network and resource provider, succinctly states the ultimate goal of this concept: “We all come with a unique set of values and passions that drive us to give and make change; a giving circle presents us with the opportunity to find the overlap–what unites us, and what will fortify us, as we give and act together.”
Even when groups are fairly homogenous or reared in comparable settings, finding the overlap can be challenging. Each individual is driven by complex, often haphazard, internal principles with a distinct perspective on society, problem-solving, and how philanthropy fits into this equation.
What happens when a giving circle is comprised of people stemming from different ethnicities, races, religions, sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, and political allegiances? Could they as a group effectively select a single recipient?
We are living in a time when there is very little room for civil disagreement—among family members, on university campuses, and in Congress. Rare is the conversation in which conflicting opinions are shared with an open mind and heart, a willingness to listen and empathically understand a diametrically opposed viewpoint. How can giving circles create a safe and productive forum for a diverse group of people to work together and align their donation goals? Here is simple advice for anyone looking to try.
Focus on Shared Values
A cornerstone of any giving circle is the shift in conversation from “you should be giving to X organization” to “WHY do you give?” This concentration point unfailingly prompts giving circle members to share their personal and cherished stories and to identify the values that motivate their desire to give. Despite differences in tenets, this exercise illuminates the humanity and vulnerability of others and can expedite the ability to connect.
As an example, The Giving Project is an initiative, in association with Headwaters Foundation for Justice and Resource Generation, that recruits diverse cohorts from a range of races and economic backgrounds to engage in grant giving. Madeline Shaw, a cohort member, remarked on the profound nature of this experience: “I had never had a chance to dialogue so explicitly about money and giving in a cross-class space — it was a huge gift.” Read More About the Initiative Here
Emphasize a Neutral Third Party
As stated, the goal of a giving circle is to ultimately select a recipient based on a majority or unanimous vote among the group. The power lies in challenging the members to be accountable for bending their comfort zone, conversing respectfully, and uncovering what seems initially to be an impossible-to-reach consensus. The ability to rise above conflicting attitudes and instincts and to find enough common ground to choose an organization to support can be incredibly life-affirming.
Community lay leader Shari L. Edelstein started the Colorado-based Olive Branch Giving Circle to bring together an interfaith giving circle focused on the Israel/Palestine conflict. Her intention was to see if individuals with contradictory perspectives could meet in the middle, and she was right. The giving circle members “discovered that it is possible to move forward with positive, concrete action to support pro-solution strategies and organizations even if there [a]re areas of disagreement.” Read More Here
Ask for Help
At the heart of a successful diverse giving circle is adept facilitation. Fortunately, we are in a golden era of giving circles and are surrounded by an abundance of organizations dedicated to providing accessible tools to manage conflict resolution and foster effective dialogue and decision-making.
Giving circle connectors, such as the aforementioned Amplifier and the Latino Giving Circle Network, convene groups and consolidate lessons learned to create best practices and “plug and play” exercises customizable for a range of giving circle structures.
Organizations such as Essential Partners offer training for giving circle facilitators to gain key skills in helping groups navigate challenging conversations, such as setting clear ground rules and cultivating a sense of cohesion early on.
Excitingly, emerging digital infrastructures such as Growfund’s new platform are serving to support giving circles in designing fresh approaches to the giving circle concept by easing the fiscal logistics in the form of a donor-advised fund and enabling collaboration among individuals and groups that may not have otherwise seen an opportunity to connect.
February 8, 2018 12:21 pmPublished by growfund_adminComments Off on Growfund for Giving Circles Featured in The Chronicle of Philanthropy
New Site Seeks to Make It Easier for Giving Circles to Blossom
By Heather Joslyn
Over the 10 years since Tracey Webb founded Black Benefactors, a Washington-area giving circle for African-American donors, she has had many conversations with people who want to get serious about their giving.
Sometimes, if they have heard of donor-advised funds, they investigate that option.
“The first thing they tell me is, the initial donation to open a fund is a barrier to them,” Webb says.
But perhaps no longer. On Monday, Global Impact, a nonprofit that raises money largely for international charities and awarded about $80 million in its 2017 fiscal year, launched a new online site, Growfund for Giving Circles, which it has been testing for about a year with a few select groups…
February 5, 2018 9:00 amPublished by growfund_adminComments Off on Global Impact Launches Growfund for Giving Circles to Unlock Greater Collective Giving for Social Impact
Custom version of Growfund charitable giving platform leads the shift in philanthropy by offering an easy-to-use and affordable Donor Advised Fund with community sharing features
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 5, 2018 – Global Impact, a world leader in growing global philanthropy, launched a version of its Growfund charitable giving platform designed for Giving Circles of any size. Growfund for Giving Circles is the first Donor Advised Fund (DAF) with no minimum, offering a more affordable and flexible way for Giving Circles to pool their money together, invest and distribute funds for social causes.
According to the Collective Giving Research Group, more than a thousand Giving Circles and 525 chapters exist in the United States, granting $27.7 million in 2016 and as much as $1.29 billion since inception. Formalized Giving Circles most often leverage a DAF; however, typical DAFs require a minimum initial contribution between $5,000 to $25,000 and high maintenance fees, which can restrict a Circle’s ability to grow its membership and amounts to grant. With Growfund for Giving Circles, not only is there no minimum, but contributions can be invested with the first $1.
“Our vision for Growfund has been to democratize philanthropy by giving Americans at any income level the opportunity to invest and grow their charitable contributions. These Giving Circles represent democratized giving, so it’s important we help them flourish,” said Scott Jackson, president and CEO of Global Impact. “We anticipate the number of circles and granting amounts will grow with better resources.”
Growfund for Giving Circles automates the administrative functions of processing contributions and grants, which reduces the costs to as low as 1% of collected funds. Investment options in the platform allow these funds to grow, so more money can reach recipients. Circle administrators can set parameters for membership and now have one location to track who joins and how much members give, and to communicate with members for grantmaking and other collective activities. The Growfund team will provide support and guidance, while a suite of communications capabilities will aim to unite the Giving Circle community and educate new donors about strategic giving and philanthropy.
Black Benefactors is a Giving Circle currently using Growfund to support its mission to enhance the well-being of black children, youth and families by encouraging philanthropy, community service and advocacy in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Tracey Webb, the organization’s founder, said, “Growfund values the myriad benefits of Giving Circles and collective giving. As such, it was the perfect choice for Black Benefactors as we began our 10th year of operation. The platform provides the essentials we need to run our Giving Circle effectively—a user friendly interface, custom donation page, real time notification of online gifts, monthly reports and great customer service. I’m pleased with our partnership and look forward to the growth of this new game-changing tool for collective giving.”
Brandolon Barnett, senior director at Global Impact and Growfund’s director, said, “We leveraged Global Impact’s expertise with philanthropy, finance and technology to design this version of Growfund that eliminates many of the barriers faced by groups that want to give collectively but currently can’t. By making it easier to start, join, or manage a Giving Circle through Growfund, we aim to advance the collective giving movement and unlock more donations by individuals of all backgrounds and means, so they can benefit from the tools of traditional philanthropy and give more strategically to make the change they want to see in the world.”
About Global Impact Global Impact is a leader in growing global philanthropy. The organization builds partnerships and raises resources that help the world’s most vulnerable people by providing integrated, partner-specific advisory and backbone services; workplace fundraising and representation; campaign design, marketing and implementation for workplace and signature fundraising campaigns; and fiscal agency and technology services. Global Impact works with more than 300 public and private sector workplace giving campaigns to generate funding for an alliance of more than 100 international charities. Through strategic council and implementation support, Global Impact equips private sector and nonprofit organizations to achieve their philanthropic goals. The organization also served as administrator for four of the world’s largest workplace giving campaigns, including the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area (CFCNCA) and the Combined Federal Campaign-Overseas (CFC-O). Since 1956, Global Impact has generated more than $1.8 billion to help the world’s most vulnerable people.
