September 28, 2021—Giving Compass, the one-stop shop for individual donors to learn about issues, get involved, and give to organizations, has partnered with Grapevine and Philanthropy Together to provide access to their Global Giving Circle Directory – a listing of 2,150+ giving circles and counting — to its hundreds of thousands of users.

Giving circles – groups of people who pool donations and decide together where to allocate their money – have tripled over the last decade. Since 2000, giving circles have engaged at least 150,000 people and donated as much as $1.29 billion. This growing movement is expected to engage 350,000 donors by 2025 and give another $1 billion or more to causes around the world.

The Global Giving Circle Directory, which is now available on Giving Compass, provides access to 2,150+ giving circles, allowing users to locate giving circles in their community, see their impact and nonprofits supported, and connect directly with leaders.

“We find that donors are more engaged when they connect with others who share their passions and want to find new and innovative ways to give back together,” said Jina Heverley, CEO, Giving Compass. “Our role at Giving Compass, an online platform for focused learning content and curated giving opportunities, is to amplify and connect donors directly to resources that accelerate giving to critical issues like racial justice and climate change. What we love about the giving circle model is that it’s an incredible way to diversify philanthropy and turn casual donors into committed and knowledgeable givers.”

Through the directory on Giving Compass, individuals can search and find a giving circle that matches their interest. Users can search for groups by:

  • Location
  • Cause area, including racial justice, climate change, women’s rights, education, and much more
  • Membership, many groups specifically target a specific culture or ethnicity
  • Intended contribution size

Once someone finds a group that matches their interest, they’re able to join and experience the power of collective giving. For example, their $100 gift alongside a hundred others can mean a $10,000+ gift to a nonprofit organization. Donors have the power to help direct the gift through nonprofit nomination, voting and group discussion. Then, they get to do it all over again each month, quarter, or year, creating an engaging and impactful model.

Since its launch in March 2020, Grapevine has already helped giving circles move more than $6M to nonprofits across locations and cause areas, including giving circles from Edgar Villanueva of Liberated Capital, Adam Erikson of Vital Little Plans, Tysus Jackson of Conscious Giving Fund, and Ina Bruer of New England International Donors.

Philanthropy Together, which started in April 2020 with the goal of democratizing and diversifying philanthropy, works to strengthen and scale the giving circle movement. This past year alone, the organization has trained 200+ giving circle leaders to prepare to launch their own circles and has a goal of growing the movement to 3,000 active giving circles including 350,000 individuals by 2025.

About Giving Compass
Part of the Raikes Foundation’s Impact-Driven Philanthropy initiative, Giving Compass is a trusted platform to help individual donors learn about pressing issues, get involved, and give with impact. Founded in 2017, the site reaches more than 150,000 monthly average users and features donor profiles, nonprofit Q&As, and guidance on how to give with a focus on equity, effectiveness, transparency, and addressing root causes of issues.