Launching the TechEquity Giving Circle
Last week we kicked off our giving circle. If you’re not familiar, a giving circle is a community of like-minded philanthropists who pool their funds in order to increase their collective impact. If you spend a little time reading up on giving circles, you’ll find that these initiatives democratize philanthropy. Not only do they allow participants to make more significant contributions, but the group determines the vetting process, weighs in on finalists organizations, and votes on the grantee to receive the funds.
The goal of the TechEquity giving circle is to build a culture of philanthropy specifically among tech workers. It’s no secret that the tech industry has generated an enormous amount of wealth in the Bay Area. While this has benefited many of those employed by tech, it has not lifted all boats; and many long-time residents, particularly low-income people of color, are being pushed out or left behind. The problem is compounded further by the fact that those with higher incomes have lower rates of philanthropic giving. Despite its booming wealth, Bay Area cities rank near the bottom in charitable donations among US cities.
As we were preparing to launch this initiative, we talked to James Liu, an active member in the TechEquity who volunteered to lead the first giving circle meeting. James talked about the tangible value of the giving circle beyond investing in our communities. He said, “additionally, it provides a platform to engage with a supportive group of folks ready to grapple with the role of wealth and money in our daily lives and society.” Building equity (the social kind, not the financial kind) doesn’t just come from investments or public policy, it must also come from people who deeply value the notion and find ways to enact it in their daily lives.
We think our communities will be stronger and more vibrant if we invest in making them more equitable. That why we’re asking our giving circle participants to contribute $150 or 1% of their income each quarter. At first glance, this may seem a little high; it goes well beyond the typical $10-$50 ask you usually see. But we settled on this figure because we were inspired by Pledge 1% and $150 per quarter amounts to one percent of a $60,000/year salary. If you make more than that, we definitely encourage you to up your gift!
Kicking Off With Workforce Development
The theme of our first meeting was workforce development, specifically organizations working to upskill and train people from marginalized communities to take advantage of the growth brought by tech. Over Little Star pizza and rosé, we talked through the work that three organizations in this space were doing. We’re excited to announce that our first grantee will be Techtonica! This organization is doing amazing work with low-income women and non-binary adults, giving them access to tech apprenticeships and then placing them in companies for at least three months of full time work. Techtonica also works to provide living stipends and laptops to those going through their program.
Prior to the meeting James (our volunteer leader) reached out to each finalist organization for more information about their theory of change, operating budget, and to learn how they’d use our donation if selected. At the meeting, participants took a few minutes to review this information and some other supplemental research James sourced. Much of the evaluation discussion circled around level of impact — the impact each organization is already making but also the level of the impact our donation would ultimately make.
The group felt that making a contribution to Techtonica would have a greater impact on helping this early stage organization deepen their roots in the community. Plus, we love their hyper local focus. Another factor that helped tip the scale was how clear they were about how our donation would be used.
Techtonica Founder and CEO, Michelle Glauser, wrote us, “Any sum of money could make a monumental difference in our sustainability and growth. Your donation will be contributing directly to stipends that help recipients focus on their education full time, during their career transition”.
With the average cost of coding bootcamp running at $11,400 it was clear to us that providing support for stipends is monumental in helping to ensure not only successful completion of the bootcamp, but access to entry to the program.
How You Can Get Involved
First things first, we’re leaving the contribution period open for the next week in hopes that we can increase the size of our donation to Techtonica. Join us in building this culture of giving and reaching our goal of making a $2,000 contribution (we’re already over halfway there). We encourage you to give the recommended amount of $150 or 1% of your income but understand that unplanned contributions can be tough. Please consider donating what you can. Donate today!
You can stay up to date on this work and make your voice heard on who will receive our next contribution by joining our giving circle. Our next meeting will likely coincide with Giving Tuesday in late November. While we haven’t finalized the theme or organizations for the next meeting, but the group discussed the idea of researching organizations related to public health and housing. Be part of the decision making process and join us today!
We’re uniting tech workers to create a more equitable economy. Join us!
We believe the tech industry, built on the internet — the most democratizing communications platform in human history — can and should contribute to broad-based economic growth that benefits everyone.
