Latest / We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits / 280. LIVE! from Phoenix: The Power of Collectives: Fundraising Circles and Giving Circles - Kyson Bunthuwong, Beverly Brooks Thompson, Chrissy Dupuy, Faith Boettger

Transcript

280. LIVE! from Phoenix: The Power of Collectives: Fundraising Circles and Giving Circles - Kyson Bunthuwong, Beverly Brooks Thompson, Chrissy Dupuy, Faith Boettger · We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

• 0:01
  Jonathan McCoy: Today's episode is sponsored by feather feather provides digital marketing tools and strategies for nonprofits of all shapes and sizes, including the Humane Society of North Central Florida. Stick around for the break to hear how feather power their $300 digital ad campaign that raised nearly$6,000 In just one day. Hey, I'm John. And I'm Becky. And this is the we are for good podcast.
• 0:24
  Becky Endicott: Nonprofits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more and be more for the causes that improve our world.
• 0:33
  Jonathan McCoy: We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an impact uprising.
• 0:42
  Becky Endicott: So welcome to the good community, where Nonprofit Professionals, philanthropist, world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.
• 0:52
  Jonathan McCoy: So let's get started. Happy Friday, Becky, what's up? Hey, John,
• 0:57
  Becky Endicott: good to see you.
• 0:57
  Becky Endicott: Thanks for coming back, everybody. We're glad you're here.
• 1:01
  Jonathan McCoy: Yeah, we are so excited. We just got back from the responsive nonprofit Summit, presented by virtuous. And guys, we've got like the fullest hearts from that experience. I gotta tell you, Ash, the people that converge the topics that were covered, and just the good vibes were so high, that we're like, how can we bring this to the podcast, because, you know, there was more than 2000 people that joined us. But we want to really lift these conversations, because the stuff that was talked about, we believe is game changing and meets the moment.
• 1:28
  Jonathan McCoy: And so we're calling this little series called build back better.
• 1:31
  Jonathan McCoy: And we're going to uncover over the next couple of weeks how to build a better culture, how to build better boards, how to build better storytelling, and how to tap into giving circles, which is this really beautiful way that philanthropy and community are converging.
• 1:43
  Becky Endicott: If this is your first time hearing about giving circles, one, give yourself a pat on the back for being here.
• 1:48
  Becky Endicott: Because the thing is, is this is can be such a revolutionary way to activate and activate a base of supporters, we've really tried to dive into this a lot more seeing the transformation of it sort of be awakened right now is we're coming out of sort of pandemic mode. And what this is, is just taking everyday regular folks, there you go.
• 2:08
  Becky Endicott: There's my Oklahoma accent, I'll probably throw y'all in here too. But we're taking everyday folks and using empowering their small gifts, banding them together with other like minded individuals and donors. And they're really fueling these powerful movements. And so when you think about, you know, these grassroots efforts, a lot of us think about it in the annual giving sense. But it's really about how do you harness the passion in someone, awaken it and community and get it flexed in a way that truly moves the needle for communities, large and small around the world. We just love this topic.
• 2:46
  Jonathan McCoy: And so here's what I'm asking of you today, think of this conversation in two different lanes. So a lot of you are working with inside a nonprofit. And so I hope today can inspire you to work and collaborate and get to know the giving collective giving movements that are happening in your local community or in an area that supports the same values that you have. But also thinking about this personally, because the people here represented today are in giving circles and they're talking about how it's really changed and informed their life. And so we really want to like talk about this as our personal philanthropy too. And I think that's kind of a unique lens for this conversation. So let's get some amazing people in this room. So it's not just us on this couch talking to you. And I want to kick it off with welcoming Beverly Brooks Thompson. She is the managing director of Carter global. She has more than 20 years of fundraising experience. And her role. She is responsible for campaign development, implementation and management for programs exceeding more than a half of a billion dollars. So she advises families and family offices. And we're so just delighted to have her here.
• 3:43
  Jonathan McCoy: She's out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• 3:46
  Becky Endicott: And it is my great joy to introduce our dear friend, our Oakland brother from another mother Kyson bumped along, we actually met Kaizen for the first time and clubhouse. Kaizen is the Director of Development and partnerships at philanthropy together, we love philanthropy together. They're strengthening and growing the collective giving movement, and they're really trying to democratize and diversify the philanthropic experience for all people. So they really believe that the landscape of philanthropy is changing. We have seen that through our podcasts. And the democratization of this is something that they're jumping on is they're equipping, empowering and training people who want to see the power of giving circles like explode, they're seeing the power of it.
• 4:29
  Becky Endicott: They're fueling it. We absolutely love it. He's a former elite gymnasts with the UC Berkeley team and he was Captain there. I love that little nugget about you. So welcome, my friend. You're always the best dressed man in the house.
• 4:43
  Kyson Bunthuwong: Love you so much, you
• 4:44
  Jonathan McCoy: both. And I'm so excited also to welcome faith Becker to today's call. So we met faith in the weird for good community and the as we kind of unpacked her story, she is like leading this incredible giving circle. She's a giving circle coach. She's also the development officer at the National Academy. We have elder law attorneys. And she just got recognized for this amazing award from nonprofit HR. She has a 2022 social impact woman to watch. So, so excited for you faith so good to be here.
• 5:12
  Becky Endicott: Thank you. And last but certainly not least power house Chrissy dipli, who's the Senior Director of Community philanthropy and engagement at Mary Byrd Perkins Cancer Center.
• 5:23
  Becky Endicott: And I'm just here to tell you Chrissy is gonna get us fired up about giving circles because she has activated this within her own community with incredible success. And I want to just give a little shout out to Mary Byrd Perkins. It's solely dedicated to providing resources for all patients and their families.
• 5:39
  Becky Endicott: They give expert treatment, advanced technology and survivorship, to break through clinical trials and translational research and philanthropy as a life saving gift. So they've created an incredible giving circle, the echo Alliance, we're going to be diving into that. And Christie is based out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, just a happiness get from Oklahoma, where we're from.
• 5:58
  Becky Endicott: So welcome, incredible panelists, we are so ready to dive in. And I think kind of a natural first place to start and I want to kick it to you Kyson is let's really talk about, you know, what, give us a definition. I think there's a lot of confusion around fundraising circles, giving circles, like start us at the beginning and break those down for us.
• 6:20
  Kyson Bunthuwong: Oh, thank you for that question. I think, once again, it's really wonderful to be convenient with you. And I always have such great conversation. So glad you're moderating this, you know, really giving circles fall under the umbrella even higher up of the collective giving. So collective giving compasses, things like crowdfunding, mutual aid, giving days fundraising societies, and we're also using this term fundraising circles.
• 6:44
  Kyson Bunthuwong: So at least for philanthropy together, our mission is really to focus on the giving circle, piece and really mainstream that model, but the way in which fundraising circles that giving circles differences, really, at the end of the day, very basically, giving circles can give to a wide range of issues, organizations, leaders in the community. So kind of different areas in which you can give, as well as just at the end of the day, fundraising circles are focused on maybe one organization or one particular mission. So, you know, we see that the definition is constantly changing and evolving. This is once again, a very fluid movement in fields.
• 7:33
  Kyson Bunthuwong: So, you know, it's totally understandable that there's some confusion. But I think at the end of the day, giving circles and both in fundraising circles as well have community really at the heart of it, and what they do, and really tried to drive impact that way. So I will also call out a very specific definition of giving circle from our friends at amplifier, which is a network of Jewish giving circles. So they say that giving circle takes your mind, talents, and financial abilities seriously and makes giving a collaborative social experience.
• 8:07
  Kyson Bunthuwong: They create caring, generous communities that people who act intentionally, thoughtfully and strategically together. So we really, really love that we lean into all of that, particularly with giving circles and happy to extend more as we continue the conversation, though.
• 8:24
  Jonathan McCoy: I mean, that was so great. And philanthropy together, it has amazing resources, if you want to like dive in, and really take a soup to nuts kind of approach of learning about it, they have those resources on their website. So definitely check that out. But I want to kick it to Beverly and Chrissy, you know, and tell us a little bit about your fundraising circle, the echo Alliance, it has a really unique founding story and just kind of how it kind of exploded, so want to kick it to y'all to share a little bit of that story with us.
• 8:48
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: Awesome.
• 8:48
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: Well, I'm gonna start thank you all for having us on this amazing panel, you can do this work and be deep in the work for a long time and still learn something new every single day on. When we were prepping for this call. I had a big light bulb moment on the difference between giving circles and donor circles and fundraising circles.
• 9:11
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: And I said on that call, I was 20 years old when I learned this. So it's fun to be here when I tell you that echo alliance is something I'm very passionate about. I have had multiple friends pass away from cancer. And I'm also a patient in me Robert Perkins Cancer Center. And giving circles in general have had been something I've read up on and I've done research on apparently learning every day and have multiple clients that have had put into place. So over the years have brewed on that and after this experience of really grief and COVID It's how do I really want to focus my time how do I want to bring my tribe together my personal tribe, not just the work of clients but but bring people together. And I mentioned to our friend, Chrissy Devi and Daniel maquette very bird Perkins, have been considering giving circle, what would that look like? I want to do something to honor the memory of, you know, how can we use this collective power and it just seemed like a perfect fit.
• 10:22
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: Mary bird has a collective giving circle of men. That has been around for some time and Christy will tell you about that. And being a person who grew up with older brothers, I wait, what? You don't have a women's you don't have a women's fundraising circle. Anything that they can do, we can do better. So it became a little bit of a power competition, if you will. We were thoughtful about that talk to Chrissy and Danielle's study debt with the experts like those on the call, you know, what, what should we do? How should we do it? And Chris, he has really taken the reins and it has exploded. It started with the idea. And we put 20 Women in a room and said, Here's what we're considering.
• 11:11
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: What What would you think about this? I learned from a good friend, Tim Kotori, eight years ago that you put people that have networks in a room to build your, your ideas, and that's what we did. They loved it. That was in November and 20 women has turned into almost 200. So excited about that guy. Oh, yeah. So anything I did I Chrissy and we are truly a donor circle. We're inside of Mary bird. And we'll tell you a little bit more about that later.
• 11:47
  Chrissy Dupuy: Yeah, absolutely.
• 11:47
  Chrissy Dupuy: Just to kind of elaborate on what you said about we had the men's giving circle that happened very organically with a group of of men connected to the cancer center about five years ago. And they actually just hit their million dollar fundraising Mark last year. And so ever since then, we knew we wanted to do a women's version. And then of course, COVID, all these other things happened. And so when my Boston and I met with Beverly last summer, we knew now was the time. And it really has been just incredibly amazing. It has taken off to levels that we were we were not even expecting, as Beverly said Our goal was 100 women and 2022. And as she said, we have far surpassed that in just the end of April. So we've seen great success. But I think one of the main components that we have seen as the success factor is those volunteer champions to help you recruit.
• 12:46
  Chrissy Dupuy: So Beverly was amazing in helping us kickstart this, and bringing in the first group of women. And then really those women have connected us to the next. The next and the next. And one thing we were very adamant about from moment one was that we put the overall structure together at Maryborough Perkins.
• 13:08
  Chrissy Dupuy: But beyond that, this was not our group. This was the women's group. And so their ideas, their vision, their thoughts have led every direction that we have gone, some that we didn't even think would go. But I think that's part of what makes it so special, so special, and why women want to be a part of it, because they feel very invested from all levels.
• 13:31
  Becky Endicott: Never underestimate the power of angry moms. Women who want to see change in the world, women, we know how to gather, we know how to tap into our passion. And you know, and I love that you even talk about the men in your group. Because I think what I'm hearing so much, that's that's kind of threaded and rooted in what you're saying is we're uncovering people's passions.
• 13:55
  Becky Endicott: And when you can create a Micro Focus into something that is so deeply personal to someone, it becomes bigger than the dollar.
• 14:03
  Becky Endicott: It's not just about the fundraising goal, it's how do I activate my base? How do I open up my network? How do I pour my story and my passion into this.
• 14:13
  Becky Endicott: And as fundraisers, I think this sort of empowerment model is so helpful for us if we can kind of release the reins a little bit.
• 14:21
  Becky Endicott: And give this over to this passionate group of volunteers who can truly make waves that go on and on. And I want to kick this to faith our dear friend Faye from the we're for good community. I mean, you are in this cohort of sort of one of the first giving circle coaches, but you've also founded to giving circles on your own that are sort of within the vein of this powering, you know, aligned interests and passions. Can you talk a little bit about those two groups, and I want to know just what you've seen and what's kind of risen to the top as a result.
• 14:55
  Faith Boettger: I want to park back to something that the keynote are said to kick off the conference on Rob Peabody said that there are three issues with getting people engaged. One is that we're all super busy. We don't have to say anything more about that. The second is the ignorance barrier, this lack of knowledge, and the third with complexity, how do we get involved, and what I absolutely love about giving circles, donor circles, etc, as we solve all three of those problems all at the same time, and bring amazingly engaged people together to do good. And what I've seen through the two organizations that I'm a part of is the diversity of which you can actually do good. So the Business Women's giving circle is a very traditional model.
• 15:37
  Faith Boettger: Tyson knows this, well, we are part of a community foundation, we each donate $1,100 a year.
• 15:46
  Faith Boettger: And we are truly united as professional women who have seen the real gap in workforce development, and the exit ramps that girls envision for their own futures around STEM careers.
• 15:59
  Faith Boettger: So we got together in 2014. And we continue to invest in programs that address those issues. And what's important about that is that we have shared values, we are uniting together around our commonality of business, women's seeing issues in our community and wanting to address them. And we have a structured process, we each donate money, we put a grants process out I'm sure Beverly knows how this works very well from a foundation. And we grant out money. And since our inception, we've given out$400,000. And we've changed the lives of young women in Northern Virginia, it's so exciting. A very different model is the one that I founded in 2019, which is social for good. We are really embarking on social and good. We are a group of women who bring their friends together, we are totally grassroots. We have no no true structure, we have six rules of engagement. And in the two and a half years that we've been around, we've supported 28 nonprofits and given out over$110,000. And what we truly believe in is that our members are democratically selecting the nonprofits and the causes that we work with every month, and they choose whether they're going to donate it donate to that cause or not. And that's what is really empowering. We are giving them the model, we're giving them the opportunity.
• 17:20
  Faith Boettger: We're educating them on their needs. But yet, going back to what you said at the beginning, they are giving from their heart if that's not a cause that means something to them. They don't have to give we are totally a no guilt. Have fun, do good organization.
• 17:40
  Jonathan McCoy: Hey, friends, this episode is presented by virtuous and they just happen to be one of our favorite companies. Let me tell you why.
• 17:44
  Jonathan McCoy: You know, we believe everyone matters. And we've witnessed the greatest philanthropic movements happen when you see and activate donors at every level. And here's the thing, virtuous created a fundraising platform to help you do just that. It's much more than a nonprofit CRM.
• 18:00
  Jonathan McCoy: Virtuous is committed to helping charities reimagine generosity through responsive fundraising, which is simply putting the donor at the center of fundraising, growing giving through personalized donor journeys, and by helping you respond to the needs of every individual. We love it because this approach builds trust and loyalty through personalized engagement. Sound like virtuous may be a fit for your organization, learn more today@virtuous.org or follow the link in our show.
• 18:30
  Becky Endicott: Hey, friends, are you ready to take your digital engagement to the next level to kind of feel stuck about where to start? Let us introduce you to feather feathers, an amazing tech startup focused on making nonprofit outreach more impactful by connecting you to your audience wherever they are online from fundraising to program awareness, they've got you covered. And rather than telling you we just wanted to show you for years, the Humane Society of North Central Florida has participated in a local online giving day called the amazing give. It's a competitive landscape for donations. So in 2021, the Humane Society knew they needed to stand out in order to maximize donations for$300 in ad spend their retargeting ads brought 119 visitors to their amazing give donation page and generated nearly $6,000 in donations in just one day. With feather a small amount of ad spend can go a long way. Learn more about their solutions for nonprofits@feather.co. That's feather without the last e.co.
• 19:25
  Becky Endicott: Now let's get back to this amazing conversation.
• 19:33
  Jonathan McCoy: The world needs a lot more of that to love your approach. I mean, key if I can I want to get a little tactical, like how are you attracting people to these groups? I mean, sounds like it's a very organic process, but I'll open it up to the group. How are you seeing this scale organically or maybe with some plan marketing? What are you doing?
• 20:27
  Chrissy Dupuy: I'm happy to jump in on that for something that I wish I could say we have this master plan for but it's happened very organically. And we've seen a lot of growth with social media amongst our women.
• 20:39
  Chrissy Dupuy: And what we did was we created a profile picture, for lack of a better way to put it with their face and an eco Alliance frame.
• 20:48
  Chrissy Dupuy: And we sent it out, we actually made the picture for them with their headshots. And we sent it out. And we said, if you would like to post about your involvement in this group, we would love you to, here's some sample texts that you can tailor to make it personal to you. And before we did that, we had about 25 members, and we got 50 or 60 members within like three weeks, because it was just all the people in the community, we're seeing the different images and the different reasons and my friends doing it. And then I saw it here, and how do I become a part of that. And that exploded in ways that we, we couldn't even have imagined. And it was just it was so amazing, because it gave the women an outlet to say why it was important to them. And then letting their friends know and then wanting to to be involved as well. So allowing people involved to share that with their social group and friends in general, has been hands down the best way that we have seen just tremendous growth in such a short amount of time. And that was no cost to us. No marketing dollars, no, no anything like that. It was all very, very organic.
• 22:06
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: I would tag on the wet, Chrissy said we, together that initial group of women and in our particular community, there were some of the stalwart leader women, but there were also some folks people maybe didn't know as well in the donor community, if you will, that traditional and community TV advices word, we've democratized it a little bit.
• 22:33
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: And I'm a firm believer that people want to be invited. And if you invite them, they will, they will come. And I'm also a firm believer that philanthropy is taught, and we have to invite people to participate. And this really, the organic piece of it was important. But also what was important is as people posted those pictures up everybody that liked it and said, Tell me more.
• 23:04
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: Several of us when and message those people and literally the message said 100 Women $1,000 Excuse me, 100 badass women.
• 23:17
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: Dollars powerhouse impact for Maryborough Perkins Cancer Center, you'd fit right in, please join me, and you know, really breathe in Messenger. And literally, for the first time in my career, I had people calling and saying how do I give you$1,000 Last time as a fundraiser that happened. And it was really exciting, but I think it was, whose pictures were their key, folks. And people wanted to be in the room, so to speak with some of those. And it was you're invited to come be a part of something that is bigger than ourselves. And what I love about the group, I think the youngest member is 22 ish, and the oldest is in her 80s. And those, those of us who are probably a little bit more public, or a little bit better known and kind of the Women's Business community, we have taken a bit of a backseat now we did the first 20 But now it's we're gonna be in the back of the room and let these folks really lead themselves. And we've seen the power of that. So super, super excited about how that's how that's working, but by the start, but it's taught by inviting people.
• 24:44
  Kyson Bunthuwong: One quick addition, I would have two is not all giving circles and funding circles need to continually scale right. I think you have to build a community that's intentional, rooted in really strong values, ones that maybe they don't always see eye to eye but are willing to have discussion and are willing to learn together are willing to go deeper. And that's when you move from really kind of transactional fundraising and philanthropy into more transformational right you you can use the power of the collective because it is a lot more once again, strategic and intentional. So those communities have to, I would say operate that way for best practice sake. But at the end of the day, I think all of us want to get more money in dollars and resources out of the community.
• 25:25
  Kyson Bunthuwong: You have to build a really strong communities to do that.
• 25:31
  Faith Boettger: In case and to your point the Business Women's giving circle we Advertise, we push out to the Community Foundation, we want more members, because the more money we get, the more impact we can have on programs. Whereas on social profit side, we are all about building community. First and foremost, we are friends inviting friends to come and join and make a difference and have fun. So it's a very different model. And I think for every organization, at the very beginning, that's the decision that the leaders have to make, how are you going to strategically grow when is too big to bid, we've had people come to social for good, because they've seen what we've done, or we've been at a bar, having a great time and raising money to do something and people that I want to join. And they never truly get involved because severally to your point, they weren't invited, they didn't feel like they are part of the community. And we want to be as welcoming as we can. But we really find that the best members for that group or those that are invited. And then the other thing I just want to add is, there's also going to be a recognition within every organization, that you're going to have people who want to be involved in every single thing they want to come to events, they want to participate. And then you're going to have what we call the happy check writers, people can really believe in the cause. They love what you're doing, whether it is cancer, or STEM or feeding the homeless, but their ability to participate is to write a check, and they're still going to learn they're still going to be educated, they're still going to be excited to be part of the picture you mentioned. And yet all they really have time to do is write a check. And they are equally as welcome and should be made to feel equally as welcomed.
• 27:12
  Becky Endicott: Okay, I hate to even jump in here because this is gold, you all and I, I just want to compliment you all, because the way that you have gone about it. And the reason that we love giving circles so much is because it's so human, it's community based. And it's totally authentic. And this is not a hard sell, this is not a pressure cooker situation. I love what you've said, Beverly, even just about the FOMO that's created in oh, I want to be a part of that I want to I want to have that feeling replicated.
• 27:45
  Becky Endicott: And there's no high pressure cells in any part of this. And in the thing that I think is so joyful about it is that giving circles are social in nature. So putting them on social media, and telling not even just that the invitation to come on. But the storytelling piece is so powerful. And we talk all the time about how do you create scroll, stopping content, you know, as someone's going through their Facebook at night or whatever, wherever they hang out digitally online, creating something so simple that says this is what I'm passionate about. This is what I'm pouring into. If this resonates with you, here's a quick way to do it. And you all are so smart that when someone raises their hand, we can immediately engage in point of how to get involved totally geeked out you guys have made the case for giving circles. We're drinking all of this kool aid, but I want to get a little practical now. Tyson talk to us a little bit about some practical tips and counsel.
• 28:39
  Becky Endicott: So if somebody's really interested in starting a collective giving circle, like where would they start? And what are some tips that you could give them to get started and really amplify this,
• 28:53
  Kyson Bunthuwong: that? Thank you for that question. For that three together, it's put together free giving circle incubators, so anyone can join to learn on how to start their own. On this five week training program, we really try to give you soup to nuts, everything that you need resources wise like toolkits, coaching, sometimes even one on one to really figure out how you want to achieve building this collective and community of givers. So And with that, too, tactically, I think, you know, we've talked a little bit and, and alluded to like a mission and values and having a vision like things that are similar to in the nonprofit space that we all talk about constantly. Those definitely applied to giving circle. Similar we just talked about membership structure, how big will it be? How are you going to recruit them? How are you going to cultivate them and steward them, like all these fundraising principles that we all know, in this kind of community really do translate over to giving circles and fundraising circles to so think about those, those are kind of like some of the initial strategic questions we ask. And at the end of the day, too, I think just getting together you know, there's a chemical called Dinner guys like they they get to go through over food like for them even in COVID. You know, they were there kind of like social bubble right and got together and continue did that.
• 30:07
  Kyson Bunthuwong: So ways in which you go back to the root of just human connection. And that community building I think is is really at the heart of it. So ways in which you can can do that virtually. But also, I think there's an also in person element and maybe they're really increasing can talk to that. I'm not sure if you have a inperson element that also be really strong.
• 30:32
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: I'm so glad Heisenberg, you and they mentioned kind of the economies of scale. And they have what you said spoke to my heart, Christy's gonna laugh when I say this, but I was like, I can't have another cup of coffee, I don't want to get into another event. I just, I don't have enough time. But I want to be very present for this. And so in that diversity of women in age and scale, and all of the things, especially in the ramp, one of the things that I think we were a little unprepared for was how quick it was. And thank goodness Mary Berta heads on. So they had laid the groundwork and knew things as practical as how are they going to put attributes into their database, right? I mean, that that was a big deal.
• 31:22
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: But over the course of the first couple of months, it was, Oh, my goodness, this is going a lot faster, what did we do and and we came down to four things, what are the four things that folks are going to find meaningful? So one, one event, if you will, a quarter, one is going to educate, and it's really going to talk deeply about the mission of Maryborough, Perkins and cancer and it really dives deep into education, that's going to be very exciting, and I don't want to give it away. But it's gonna be awesome thing, Ted Talk ish.
• 32:02
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: One of the events is going to be very social in nature. So women want to be in the room. And it's going to be a very unique type social networking. So you can do with something, one is going to be picking the project and really hearing the pitch from internal picking the project.
• 32:19
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: And the other is much more stewardship. Thank you involved.
• 32:22
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: So that wasn't on the front end, that was really kind of in the heart of the middle of like, oh, my gosh, this is gonna be too big, too fast. And we don't want it to be a runaway train. So let's put some some parameters really fast around it. So we do have some of those check writers. And then we have some folks who I'm sure will want to do even more and more. The beauty of that internal giving circle, if you will, that dinner circle is Maryborough already has a lot of things built in other that people can participate in. So I think that's a critical aspect operationally, because I'm sure it can give a little bit more insight.
• 33:06
  Faith Boettger: So for the business, women's giving circle, very similar to yours, Beverly, we have an agenda, a schedule for the year where we are trying to educate our members on what's happening on the ground and stem, you know, why is this investment so important. But we also, you know, for the nonprofit's in the room, really, really make sure that they get the visibility with our members.
• 33:25
  Faith Boettger: How is our money making an impact? How are those girls programs working? What is happening on the ground? And where do they need help. So a lot of our members have found myself included, through some of those conversations our home, I became a board member for one of our grantees, because I absolutely love what they do.
• 33:46
  Faith Boettger: And I'm totally inspired by their program. And for me, that was so meaningful. We've carried that over into social for good in a very different way, where every month because we're doing a different nonprofit, we do take July off because it's exhausting. But every month, we feature a different nonprofit.
• 34:03
  Faith Boettger: And what we have found to be the most critical is having those nonprofits in the room in some fashion talking to our members about what they do. And to your point, and what how you structure your education our members will give when they know what the issue is, you know, going back to what Rob so eloquently said, you know, we we know they're busy. We know they have an ignorance barrier. And we know that this is complex. So how can we introduce them to graduates of a program so they know what a homeless sustainability program looks like? How can we introduce them to scholarship recipients? So they know what undocumented students go through? How can we make those stories which I knew as a theme of this conference, come to life in a really personal way? So for us, that's, you know, part of our secret sauce is educating and inspiring and connected?
• 34:53
  Jonathan McCoy: Well, I mean, I think talking about just the passion that kind of born out of this experience for you faith in the organization that you joined as a board member, I think a lot of nonprofit professionals listening are probably thinking, what is the appropriate way to approach because this is not your average donor is not throw them in the typical cultivation cycle. So I'd love for y'all to kind of talk about what that looks like. I mean, how do you engage in no case and you get some specific thoughts around this? Okay, get to you.
• 35:19
  Kyson Bunthuwong: Yeah, I think, you know, there's varying ways in which giving circles wants to engage with community leaders and nonprofits on the ground doing the actual work, right.
• 35:29
  Kyson Bunthuwong: Someone will say, You know what, we'll give you a grant. This is a gift don't need to cultivate us. And, you know, we'll go on from there. Other ones really want to see like, representation like philanthropy done in community, with by community and for this community. And that kind of model is one that I really espouse. Because, you know, you do want representation and voices at the table in grant making, and giving away, you know, money. So I think that is really kind of a core value that we push that point to be together, we always say giving circle should definitely go beyond the dollar and and try to volunteer join boards get engaged with nonprofits in a way that really uplifts them beyond kind of cyclical grant making.
• 36:15
  Kyson Bunthuwong: At the end of the day, the best donors are the ones who are really invested in the mission and organizations that they end up supporting on once again, just to harp on it just going beyond transactional giving. So for us, we're really trying to push in that direction. And hopefully, you know, the nonprofits are able to say, hey, you know, we do have a list of 10 volunteer opportunities, we'd love for you to come out and farm with us on the weekend or, you know, be a mentor for one of our students, that's a really great way to get involved. So nonprofits, just think about the ways in which you can offer up back, you know, people in giving circles to literally just jump right in, and continue to engage from there. So I just
• 36:58
  Chrissy Dupuy: some things you said case, and really stuck out about beyond the transaction.
• 37:00
  Chrissy Dupuy: And for us, obviously, all of our fundraising goes to Marienburg Perkins Cancer Center. But one of the big things that we wanted to do is, so ours is $1,000 annual donation, and the women get a say, and how those dollars are allocated. And so what I always say to be people is that Mary Byrd Perkins is the core and the heart and soul of this group, but we want it to be bigger for the women. And so beyond that transactional piece, one thing I've really tried to do is, we have a Facebook group just for this, this group, so I'm constantly scanning Facebook, if one of the members is recognized for winning an award, or if she was honored by her company, or she got a promotion, posting those things in the group. So it's bigger than just Mary Byrd Perkins, it is about the women's community as a whole, this women's group, as a whole. And we are not only celebrating the impact that we're having at the Cancer cellar center, excuse me, we're celebrating the impact that each of us are having individually. And as a whole. So I really wanted this to be bigger than just their support of the cancer center, and to be something that they are invested in on all levels. And I have found that people have really responded to that well, and it's been. And again, just simple things like me seeing someone posted something on Facebook, or someone shooting me a note about someone else, and then just sending them a note in the mail too. So really, respecting their whole being, in addition to what they do for the Cancer Center.
• 38:36
  Chrissy Dupuy: And that's just been so amazing.
• 38:40
  Chrissy Dupuy: Something else that's happened organically, that has helped us really build this community that Christy
• 38:44
  Faith Boettger: what you're saying, so totally resonates with us on the Business Women's giving circle, I had started something at the end of every meeting where we did for the good of the circle, because we as women and men don't recognize the things that we've done that are really truly great. We don't pat ourselves on the back, we don't shout it from the mountains and not and that's all part of who we are. So by building community and announcing what you know, what you've accomplished, what you've been recognized for, and what you need, you know, I need help with, you know, something marketing, something communication, it really does strengthen that circle. And the stronger our circle is, the more we can accomplish together.
• 39:21
  Faith Boettger: Totally agree,
• 39:24
  Becky Endicott: guys are such rockstars I mean, I have to harken back to our values because I keep hearing one and eight keep coming back. Our first core value is that everyone matters. And our eighth core value is community is everything. And when you think about those two through the lens of giving circles through what you've just said, I mean, Chrissy, your example is so profound, that if you can recognize the one, the individual and uplift, even when it's not even tied to what the actual outcome of your giving circle is, you feel like you are seen known and valued. You feel like these are your people, you're more willing to lean in with more than just check writing, you're opening networks, you know, you're lending your voice. And I just think this notion that these are very busy people who want to make a difference, you know, is a powerful one and contouring your engagement in that way do we give them short little sound bites to keep them engaged?
• 40:16
  Becky Endicott: Having little updates I think is just a way to keep the conversation going and allows you to celebrate and community and to me that is going to be a magnet for other people coming in. So we're kind of winding down this conversation and I want to do a rapid fire With all four of you, and I'm gonna start with you, Beverly, we end all our conversations on the we're for good podcasts with a one good thing, what's your one good thing, piece of advice or something that somebody could leave with today as it relates to giving circles.
• 40:47
  Beverly Brooks Thompson: I think giving circles are so powerful and their unique, unique opportunity to bring people together for a common good. And then that burden of philanthropy really is taught. inviting somebody into the giving circle is a great way to invite them to learn the power of collective impact on plan B,
• 41:12
  Kyson Bunthuwong: I will call that I specifically wore this jacket, which was my mom's and this is my tie that came from my grandfather. And this is my way of saying their voice matters.
• 41:22
  Kyson Bunthuwong: They've influenced the way I work, they influence the way I give. I have really strong family values. So I believe that because giving circles really get at the heart of values. You get to have really amazing discussions with your peers, your friends, whoever's at the table with you to to give in a way that goes back to the root of philanthropy. That word is which is love of humanity. So you no more giving as we didn't that I think we can all do a lot more.
• 41:51
  Jonathan McCoy: Can we love Kyson anymore. Lee, that's amazing. Thank you for sharing that. Okay, faith.
• 41:57
  Faith Boettger: First, everyone can be a philanthropist. It's a really big word. Tyson has just told us what it actually means.
• 42:03
  Faith Boettger: And everyone can do it. And then I really believe you know, gather people you want to spend time with and have some fun giving is, it's hard and easy all at the same time. But it's really exciting when you're having fun at the same time, because HE round us out.
• 42:20
  Chrissy Dupuy: I think what's so great about giving circles is it gives you the opportunity to make those personal connections.
• 42:25
  Chrissy Dupuy: And it takes philanthropy to a whole different level that you wouldn't be able to do without this sense of community. So if anybody's thinking about doing it, my suggestion is do it and let the group help let the group help you lead it, and it can go in such such amazing places that will blow you away. It's this is one of the joys of my career to be able to, to lead this and I just can't see where I can't wait to see where we're gonna go. We're only a few months in.
• 42:51
  Chrissy Dupuy: So it's really exciting the possibilities.
• 42:56
  Becky Endicott: Okay, I gotta add my one good thing and here, I can't help it. This group has like inspired me, but giving should feel good. And giving and community when it's not work should feel good. And I just feel the power and giving circles, John, we need to start a giving circle back at home because we believe in the power of community. I want to thank all of these incredible panelists, please go find them on LinkedIn. Their websites are listed in the chat. They're doing incredible work. If you're thinking about joining one, philanthropy, caissons group can put that together for you. I know there are a lot of resources in there. Faith is an incredible coach at this. Please dive in. This is a way to awaken communities and collective giving. That feels good. I just want to thank each of you for what you're doing to pour into this elevated goodness that we're seeing digitally and in purpose, find out how to do it within your own community. And please check out we're for good.com, backslash, R and S if you're looking for more resources, because we want to get you activated, we don't want to just talk to you. We want to get you up and changing the world. So thank you all so much.
• 44:00
  Becky Endicott: We'll see you back after lunch.
• 44:02
  Julie Confer: Hey, friends, thanks so much for being here.
• 44:04
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• 44:23
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• 44:26
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• 44:35
  Julie Confer: Thanks friends. I'm our producer Julie confer and our theme song is sunray by Remy Boris boom