Giving circles in the United States tripled in number from 2007-2017, with women making up the majority of members. How is this women-driven model of giving influencing charitable behavior? And how are the profiles of giving circle participants changing over time?

This recent study by the Collective Giving Research Group and supported by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute explores those questions. Here’s what it found: 

Giving circle members tend to leverage their networks more strategically for philanthropic advice. Their philanthropic networks are also more diverse in terms of race, religion, and socioeconomic status than the networks of non-members.

Motivations also differ for established members and new members, with the former citing the ability to leverage gifts and “fun” as primary reasons for participation, and the latter more focused on the opportunity to engage more deeply with a cause or issue(s).

The report affirms previous research that giving circle members give more, give more strategically and proactively, give to a wider array of organizations, volunteer more, and are more likely to engage in civic activity. 

The full summary of the report is here.

This report was written and researched by the Collective Giving Research Group (CGRG).

Principal Investigator Julia L. Carboni, PhD, Assistant Professor, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Afairs, Syracuse University Co-Principal Investigator Angela Eikenberry, PhD, David C. Scott Diamond Alumni Professor of Public Afairs, School of Public Administration, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Special thanks to the CGRG advisory board. Thanks also to Abhishek Bhati, Hannah Greenberg, and Catherine Annis for their research assistance on this project.

This research was completed with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, via the Women's Philanthropy Institute at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.