Our giving circle - more than money

People helping the children of refugees, ex-gang members supporting troubled youth, and Christchurch’s New Brighton Project are three of the causes our giving circle has donated money too.

Our giving circle is very informal. We got together because of the work we do. Initially it was members of the Generosity Hub who thought it would be a good idea for our actions to speak louder than our words. We’ve grown now to a circle of people from all walks of life, who’ve been introduced to this way of giving by others in our group. We welcome anyone!

Other giving circles have sprung up as an offshoot of a book club, through work or just a bunch of mates with a common cause in mind.

Because of the nature of our giving circle members, we spent a bit of time trying to work out the ‘best’ way to give. We looked at things like how we could get the tax back (you can now get 1/3 of any donations to approved done organisations back), and setting up a bank account so we could make more regular donations (that has other tax implications). In the end we decided the easiest way was just to stick as much cash as we each wanted to give on the table. One of us then makes sure the money collected goes to the agreed person or organisation.

We do have amazing discussions deciding who we are going to give to. In fact, if I were to be honest, this is the bit I enjoy the most. The way we work is each meeting we bring along what we loosely call “our wish for the world”. Realistically this means each of us talks about the issues or the aspects of life that are either bothering us or that are working successfully. We can talk about natural disasters, how people connect with each other in our neighbourhood, is there enough political activism – all sorts.

This discussion takes so many twists and turns and absolutely everyone in the circle leaves having learnt something new about something.

By some miracle, we then arrive at a spot where we can say – this is a common factor – who can we give our money to that is working in or around this area? And with that we choose an organisation or individual and give that meeting’s collection to them. We have been known to do a little research on our chosen area if we are not sure who to give to, but generally someone knows of something – it works!

We don’t prescribe how much money people should give – each person gives what they want. We are quite different people, but probably have similar social consciences and I think that is why we work: because we have enough in common to agree, while being open to listening and learning from others. We are also wise enough to know when to agree to disagree.

At the risk of sounding twee, being part of our giving circle gives more than just money. I have become more thoughtful and practical about our family’s giving. My understanding of the work that is genuinely helping our communities and is going on 'under the radar' has increased. And I have found a whole new group of people with whom it is an absolute pleasure spending a couple of hours with every couple of months (often over a wine!), doing the easy bit – discussing how we can give what we can afford to those doing the hard bit – helping others who are not as lucky as me.

Rachel Roberts is a member of the Generosity Hub.

Learn more about Giving Circles and how to start one