Giving Circles and Community Foundations

About this grant

The project goal is to gain insight into how community foundations and other philanthropic intermediaries around the world relate to an increasingly popular form of community philanthropy—giving circles. Research will be conducted on the extent of giving circle activity worldwide, their scale and structure, and their interaction with community foundations and other host organizations. Factors that will be studied include models, structures, activities, composition, periods of existence, level of engagement, initiation processes, beneficiaries, host motivations, incentives, and receptivity. The study will map the global giving circle landscape, identifying challenges and opportunities that will help giving circles develop more productive relationships with community foundations and other philanthropic intermediaries. This will raise the potential to enhance philanthropy in communities. The project will be managed by the Johnson Center for Philanthropy, a unit of the College of Community and Public Service at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.