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ANNOUNCEMENT

Amplifier to Hold First-Ever Summit for United States Giving Circle Networks

Published

September 7, 2017

Tags

  • Jewish Community

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Amplifier

AMPLIFIER TO HOLD FIRST-EVER SUMMIT FOR UNITED STATES GIVING CIRCLE NETWORKS

Jewish philanthropy network to convene leaders representing 20 diverse collective giving networks

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Sept. 7 – Amplifier, the global network of giving circles inspired by Jewish values, announced today that it will convene all 20 U.S. giving circle networks for a summit in Grand Rapids, Mich., this November 14-15.

Giving circles – groups of people who pool their charitable donations and decide together where to allocate their money – are a key tool for entry to philanthropy. At least 550 of the more than 1,000 giving circles in the U.S. are part of the 20 different networks that Amplifier is convening in order to explore ways to scale and strengthen giving circles nationwide.

Funding for the summit is being provided by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Participating will be two leaders from each of the 20 U.S. networks, representing giving circles from diverse communities: African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Latinos, faith-inspired givers, groups of women and youth, and more. The summit was conceived and will be co-designed by a group of giving circle network leaders: Joelle Asaro Berman, the executive director of Amplifier; Dianne Chipps Bailey, a member of Women’s Impact Fund, and an advisor of the Women’s Collective Giving Grantmakers Network; Hali Lee, founder of the Asian Women Giving Circle, which is part of the Asian American and Pacific Islanders giving circle network; and Marsha Morgan, vice chair of the Community Investment Network and a member of the Birmingham Change Fund giving circle.

“Giving circles are a phenomenal way to introduce Americans from all walks of life and levels of wealth to philanthropy, enabling like-minded people to come together and pool their funds to increase their charitable impact around common causes,” said Berman. “People in giving circles give more, and more strategically. Following the summit, we’ll share our ideas to scale this model in order to attract more resources to this growing giving movement.”

The summit will also feature a presentation of new findings on the American giving circle landscape by University of Nebraska, Omaha’s Dr. Angela Eikenberry, Jessica Bearman (Bearman Consulting), Julia Carboni (Syracuse University), and Jason Franklin (Johnson Center for Philanthropy). Eikenberry and her team’s research inspired the idea for connecting and convening the 20 American networks. Amplifier launched in 2014 with support from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, which continues to be a core partner in Amplifier's growing work.

 

People in chairs arranged in a circle
Photo #1: Giving circle leaders meet at Amplifier’s 2016 Summer Convening in New York (Photo credit: Courtesy of Amplifier
Women on stage to speak about Giving Circle
Photo #2: (From left) Marsha Morgan from Community Investment Network, Diane Chipps Bailey from Women’s Collective Giving Grantmakers Network, Joelle Asaro Berman from Amplifier, and Hali Lee from Asian Women Giving Circle speaking on a panel at Women’s Philanthropy Institute 2017 Symposium in March 2017 (Photo credit: Courtesy of The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy).

 

About Amplifier:
Amplifier builds and sustains giving circles inspired by Jewish values. Its network of more than 100 giving circles around the world empowers givers of all ages, levels of wealth and funding interests to build values-driven communities that create positive, powerful change by giving together. http://www.amplifiergiving.org

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