Welcome!

Welcome to our blog!  In it, we provide information about our current research on Giving Circles in the United States.  An overview of our current study is given below.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at givingcircleresearch@gmail.com.

Jessica Bearman

Julia Carboni

Angela Eikenberry

Jason Franklin

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand the current landscape and impact of giving circles/collaboratives on members and hosts in the United States. Specifically it examines:

• How various models or structures of giving circles or various activities or compositions within giving groups might make a difference in growing philanthropy among women and men, people of different racial/ethnic backgrounds, levels of income, and other demographic variables.
• How length, type or level of engagement within giving groups might make a difference in growing philanthropy.
• How in-person versus online or hybrid connection and engagement might make a difference in growing philanthropy.
• How the above might affect who benefits from philanthropy, including increasing giving for specific communities or issues such as causes for women and girls.
• How being part of a network of giving groups might influence their impact.
• How the above characteristics might impact community foundation and other hosts of giving groups and how hosts might in turn influence giving groups’ impact.

We define giving circles/collaboratives as groups of individuals who collectively donate money and sometimes time to support multiple organizations or projects. Importantly, members have a say in how funding is given and who is supported.

Design

The research will take place in three phases: 

• An assessment of the current landscape of giving groups through:
• The creation of a database of giving circles/collaboratives in the U.S.
• A national survey of the structure, composition and operations of giving circles/collaboratives, sent to group leaders
• An examination of giving circles/collaboratives’ impact on donors/members through a survey of a sample of giving circle members.
• An examination of giving circles/collaboratives’ impact on community foundations and other hosts through a survey of giving circle/collaborative hosts and interviews with a sample of staff at hosts.

Timeline

Phase 1, focused on understanding the landscape of giving circles/collaboratives in the U.S.:

Creation/update of giving circle database – began summer 2016 and ongoing

Survey of giving circle leaders – sent November 2016

Report drafted spring 2017

Phase 2, focused on understanding the impact of giving circles on members:

Survey of a sample of giving circle members – planned to be sent summer 2017

Report drafted fall 2017

Phase 3, focused on understanding the impact of giving circles on hosts:

Survey of hosts – planned to be sent summer 2017

Interviews with sample of host staff – planned summer/fall 2017

Report drafted by fall 2017

Research Team

JESSICA BEARMAN, MSOD (Bearman Consulting) works with foundations and other mission-based organizations, focusing on organization development, facilitation, and R&D to help them become more intentional, effective, and responsive to the communities that they serve. As a consultant and in her prior role as deputy director of New Ventures in Philanthropy, Jessica has written and spoken widely about new and established philanthropy, with an emphasis on philanthropic practices, culture, and values. She is the author of several seminal studies of giving circles and shared giving, including Giving Together, More Giving Together, and – with Dr. Angela Eikenberry – The Impact of Giving Together. She founded the Moscow Women’s Giving Circle in Moscow, Idaho, which engages 80 members and has given more than $200,000 in the last nine years. Before her career in philanthropy, Jessica spent nine years working in the nonprofit sector. 

DR. JULIA CARBONI is an Assistant Professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs- ranked #1 in the country by U.S. News & World Report. She was previously an Assistant Professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Her research focuses on social networks and collaborative, multi-sector governance arrangements designed to address large-scale social issues. She has expertise in network analysis. Her work is published in leading academic journals such as Public Administration Review, American Review of Public Administration and VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. Dr. Carboni serves on national committees for several professional associations including the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action and the American Society for Public Administration. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Indy Food Council. Prior professional experience includes managing youth mentoring programs and fundraising.

Dr. ANGELA M. EIKENBERRY is a Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her research focuses on the social, economic and political roles philanthropy, voluntary associations, and nonprofit organizations in democratic governance and has been featured on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and many other scholarly and popular press venues. Her book, Giving Circles: Philanthropy, Voluntary Association, Democracy (Indiana University Press) won CASE’s 2010 John Grenzebach Research Award for Outstanding Research in Philanthropy. She has also won the UNO College of Public Affairs and Community Service Teaching Award and named the UNO David C. Scott Diamond Alumni Professor of Public Affairs. She is lead advisor for the Nonprofit Concentration in the School--ranked #11 in the country by U.S. News & World Report. Last year, Dr. Eikenberry was awarded a 2014-2015 Fulbright Scholar Award to conduct research on giving circles in the UK, affiliated with the University of Birmingham. She was also selected as the 2016 recipient of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Award for Distinguished Research or Creative Activity. For a list of publications see: https://unomaha.academia.edu/AngelaMEikenberry.

DR. JASON FRANKLIN was appointed in June 2015 as the W.K. Kellogg Community Philanthropy Chair at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy to which he brings a background in grantmaking and donor education, nonprofit strategy and leadership, social entrepreneurship, and urban policy advocacy. As the nation’s first endowed chair focused on community philanthropy, he is developing a program of research, teaching, service, and thought leadership to explore and advance the field, nationally and internationally. Previously, Dr. Franklin served as Executive Director of Bolder Giving, which he led through five years of growth after Melinda Gates credited them as an inspiration for the billionaire Giving Pledge. During his tenure, he helped Bolder Giving refine its focus on promoting philanthropy for social, racial, economic & environmental justice and dramatically expand its reach. Dr. Franklin also holds an appointment as an award-winning adjunct professor at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and serves on the boards of the Proteus Fund, Solidaire Donor Network, and 21st Century School Fund; advisory boards of the Chartered Advisors in Philanthropy Program and WiserGiving; and is a member of the Funding Queerly Giving Circle, Threshold Foundation, High Impact Documentary Funding Circle, and Our LGBT Fund at the Grand Rapids Community Foundation.  

SARAH DEMING holds a B.S. in Sociology from Western Washington University. In her own business consulting practice, she guides clients through payroll and taxes to higher level strategic development.  As an associate with Bearman Consulting, Sarah specializes in survey design and both qualitative and quantitative research. She has served as co-chair of the Moscow Women's Giving Circle for the past three years.

KATIE CLARKIN is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration at The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Prior to attending Maxwell, Katie served in a number of roles at the U.S. Department of Energy, most recently as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Energy. Katie attended Kent State University, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with B.A. degrees in International Relations and French.

KOLBY A. COLE is a  graduate of Hope College (2013) where he studied Psychology and Indian Religions.  He is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration and Master of Social Work at Grand Valley State University (2017) and works as the Graduate Assistant for the W.K. Kellogg Community Philanthropy Chair at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy.  After Graduation, Kolby hopes to enroll in a PhD Program to research how religion (religious affiliation) influences giving in India and for Indian diasporas.

Research Advisory Group (as of April 2017)

Alex W. Wong - Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP)

Allison Johnson Heist - Headwaters Foundation for Justice

Andy Carroll - Exponent Philanthropy

Beth Breeze – University of Kent, Centre for Philanthropy, UK

Beth Ellen Holimon – Dining for Women

Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz – BBS Consulting

Carly Hare - Change Philanthropy

Chris Cardona - Ford Foundation

Colleen Willoughby, Washington Women's Foundation & WCGN

Debra Mesch - Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, School of Public and 

     Environmental Affairs

Dianne Chipps Bailey - Robinson Bradshaw and Women’s Impact Fund

Ed Fields - Community Investment Network 

Hali Lee - The Asian Women Giving Circle

Jen Ratay - Silicon Valley Social Ventures

Joelle Berman - Amplifier: The Jewish Giving Circle Movement

Katherine Scott - Youth Philanthropy Connect

Lana Volftsun - Giving Circles Fund

Laurie E. Paarlberg – Texas A&M University, The Bush School of Government & Public Service

Mary O'Neill – Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers

Mitchell Kutney – Just Change, Canada

Nageeb Sumar – Gates Foundation

Nick Deychakiwsky - Mott Foundation 

Sejal Desai - Entrepreneurs for North Texas, Communities Foundation of Texas

Seth Schalet - Prevent Blindness Northern California

Sondra Shaw-Hardy - Author and Speaker

Tammy Dowley-Blackman - CFLeads

Virginia Mills, Women’s Collective Giving Grantmakers Network

Wendy Steele - Impact 100 Global

Acknowledgements
This research is funded by the Trustees of Indiana University, Women’s Philanthropy Institute, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Special thanks to our research assistants: Sarah Deming, Kolby Cole, and Katie Clarkin.