Giving Circles Asia has launched an information portal for giving circles in Asia.
Website – http://givingcircles.asia/index.aspx
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Giving-Circles-Asia-1462711890687579
Do check out the interactive map on the website! You will be able to find the giving circles in Singapore.
What is a Giving Circle?
A giving circle is a group of individuals who pool their money and collectively decide on donating to a particular non-profit organisation. Some giving circles are self-managed, whose members evaluate potential non-profits and administer grants. Other circles, especially larger ones, employ professional staff for day-to-day grant management. Most circles encourage their members to contribute time and skills as well as money to the organisations being supported. Giving circles usually offer grants to support non-profits, but others use loans or equity funding to invest in social enterprises.
Giving circles also provide their members with the opportunity to learn more about effective giving, how non-profits respond to problems in their community.
By engaging their members with non-profits or having a strong educational function, giving circles are more than simply aggregators of charitable funds. They can add value to grantmaking and provide an opportunity for individuals to develop good philanthropic practices.
The American academic, Professor Angela Eikenberry, wrote that while ‘giving circles are difficult to define…it is possible to describe at least five major dimensions… Generally, they pool and give away resources, educate members about philanthropy and issues in the community, include a social dimension, engage members and maintain their independence’.
For more information, kindly check the Giving Circles Asia website and Facebook page in the links above.
