Unlocking the power of people-centered philanthropy

The Community Investment Network (CIN)’s annual conference truly was a Homecoming! It felt so good to virtually gather with hundreds of leaders in philanthropy including writer and philanthropist Melanie Brown, Rev. Eugene Cho of One Day’s Wages, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, and more of the world’s most influential social justice leaders to discuss philanthropy as a tool for community problem-solving.

Founded in 2003, CIN aims to inspire, connect, and strengthen African-Americans and communities of color to leverage their resources to create the change they wish to see. I’m always excited to see what CIN has planned each year for their conference. This year’s Homecoming Conference focused on leveraging the power of collective giving to address systemic racism, poverty, and other injustices communities of color face.

Although we couldn’t meet in-person, the energy was still high and the chats were active! It was great to see the conference have such a wide reach from giving circle members to Foundation professionals to college students.

CIN’s conference came at the perfect time. Right now, we are all experiencing a moment of opportunity to leverage giving circles and collective giving to continue to transform philanthropy. During my session, “Uniting the Giving Circle Field to Democratize and Diversify Philanthropy” I spoke with Terry Love, Vice Chair of CIN, and emphasized that the giving circle movement invites anyone to become a philanthropist and advance social change. Throughout many of the sessions, I heard this sentiment echoed. I believe Rev. Eugene Cho said it best during his plenary session — “It’s the everyday people that really drive the engine of philanthropy.”

Below are some of my favorite takeaways from my two days with CIN:

“Giving circles can interrupt the system and demonstrate what’s possible for the future.” — Sudha Nandagopal, CEO of Social Venture Partners International (SVPI)

During Sudha’s discussion on “Different Giving Circle Models” with Hali Lee, of Donors of Color Network, and Sian O’Faolain of The Giving Project Network, Sudha calls attention to donor behavior and their tendency to want to follow the model of key players in philanthropy such as community and family foundations. As more and more individuals — or partners as they’re called at SVPI — are engaging in collective giving, donors feel empowered to write their own rules as they give back and no longer feel the need to replicate what others are doing. This is one of the main reasons why I love the giving circle model because giving circles fill the funding gaps for many organizations, particularly the general operating costs which are so critical to an organization’s operations.

1 Peter 4:10 “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.”

Throughout a number of the sessions, speakers reiterated that philanthropy is not only the giving of dollars, but also sharing your time, testimony and talent with others. During the “Faith-Based Giving Circles” session, Marcus Thomas of Mt. Zion Baptist Church shared bible verse 1 Peter 4:10 with us to express how his circle’s faith grounds their work in their community. As Marcus spoke with Liz Fisher of Amplifer@JFNA, a network of giving circles based in the Jewish faith, and Muhi Khwaja of the American Muslim Community Foundation, it was refreshing to hear that in a time where everything feels so divisive, giving circles can break down barriers and minimize differences for the common good.

“Being a philanthropist is not anything we haven’t done already. We just haven’t owned that name.” — Kia Jarmon, Co-chair of Give Back, Give Black

I was blown away by the discussion Kia Jarmon and Lisa Swift-Young of Give Back, Give Black had on black philanthropy. Annually, black households are giving away $11 billion in charitable donations, and as Kia and Lisa noted, this is just what’s recorded and doesn’t include the time, talent and other valuable resources being shared. Despite the large amount of giving in the black community, only 3 percent is actually trickling down into the black community. Give Back, Give Black encourages donors to make gifts to Black-led nonprofits that serve black people as they can best distribute funds to meet the needs of the community. This equity and empowerment lens can truly transform philanthropy in a major way!

Participating in this convening and connecting with individuals and groups who seek to leverage philanthropy to make our communities better, more equitable places to live was invigorating. In this extraordinary time as communities across the country continue to grapple with the COVID-19 crisis and a national conversation on race is forcing a reckoning for societal institutions large and small, this historically exclusive sector has an opportunity to become more inclusive and respond to the urgency of this moment. Together, we can seize it.