How does that work?

I would say in our early days, we were driven a lot by our own experiences.

So my two colleagues and Chloe, they were both donors themselves.

They were both very philanthropically engaged.

I was as well.

I also had the nonprofit experience.

I'd worked at a nonprofit and worked at a couple.

For nonprofits that are listening, what are some of the principles from the psychology and kind of the behavior of giving circles that they could apply into how they approach fundraising at a large scale?

So Emily, before we get started, can you just tell us a little bit about you? Tell us about your journey all the way up until, you know, how did you come to form GreatVine?

Yeah, of course.

Happy to.

Uh, so my background really in this sector started more on the inclusive finance side.

I became quite interested in microfinance when I was in college and spent some time interning at the UN to learn more about that, and ultimately, um, moved to India for a few years to work on building a microfinance program there.

And so through that work, I developed this deep understanding and belief in the power of hyper-local giving and getting even small dollar amounts of funds into the hands of community members to collaborate around where this money should go, and the value of social proof and social accountability, and all of those good things.

And so, um, that's really my, I would say, founding experience in this kind of a model.

But, you know, even on these websites, the first thing it's saying is, "We're pooling our donations to have bigger impact." And so, you know, let's talk about what could this look like in healthcare, Emily, for the typical hospital foundation?

Okay.

Members who participate...

Exactly.

So that's how we pool the funds, and then the members who participate can nominate nonprofits for the group to consider.

Ultimately, three finalists are selected for the group.

Um, typically this group will learn more about that nonprofit through presentations on each of the nonprofits.

They can do their own research, discuss, and at the end of the day, everyone gets to vote.

... is for everybody.

Can you share more on why this is important and how giving circles are doing this?

Yeah, I'm happy to.

Thank you for the question.

Um, so giving circles are a movement of everyday people that, uh, we call it a grassroots movement where people came together organically to pool their donations and collaborate to give larger gifts as a collective.

Um, and so it really has been a, a, a movement of people coming together organically and collaborating often with a, a kind of democratic angle where anyone who joins can donate into the pool, can nominate nonprofits, and everyone votes, um, is a very typical model to give money away.

Uh, so you know, there, there-- Some people call giving circle schools of democracy actually, which is, I think, a fascinating concept, especially as we think about, you know, what does it mean to live in a democracy and how do you learn those skills and exercise those skills in, in various ways.

Um, but the other thing with giving circles being a, a tool, a model that is diversifying and democratizing philanthropy is that we often see in, in philanthropy that a lot of the tools and the systems that have been built are for larger, higher net worth donors and foundations, right? And, and so what that means is that there's a lot of support and education and training and, and tools and financial vehicles for people with more resources to give.

Where do you see this movement going, and what's the role you're playing in building that future?