There’s a saying that goes “in unity, there is strength,” and that describes a form of philanthropy that’s been gaining traction in the Ozarks.
Giving circles, also known as generosity collectives, are bringing together like-minded folks to support their communities in a structured way through the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
The idea has been around for decades.
“Years ago you maybe would have thought of it as like a knitting club or a book club that was coming together, and everybody decided to sponsor, you know, a family at the holiday season, so that would've been a giving circle in kind of its earliest forms and earliest formation and what people would think of but now have become quite a bit more structured, more streamlined, more mainstream," said Winter Kinne, CFO’s incoming president and CEO, "and so it's just a group of folks coming together that understand that, by contributing a little and pooling their resources together, they can have more impact at the end of the day.”
CFO has about three dozen giving circles that are currently active, and Kinne said they’re all structured a little bit differently. Each requires a minimum donation to join, and each donation earns the giver one vote when it’s time to grant funds to applicants.
The CFO launched the Generosity Collective in Springfield this fall to serve both the city and Greene County.
"We have a very active and very successful and very impactful group out of Joplin called the Philanthropic Society, which is part of the Joplin Regional Community Foundation," she said. "The will cross giving $1 million back away to their community in 2024 in just about five years, and so there started to be a conversation of, 'if the Joplin Community Foundation could do that, could we also do that in Springfield?' ”
The minimum donation to join is $2500. Kinne said the goal is to begin the competitive grant making process by next summer and to make grant decision next fall.
More than $538,000 in grants from giving circles affiliated with CFO were awarded in Fiscal Year 2023, and CFO spokesman Aaron Scott, said the Joplin Regional Community Foundation’s Philanthropic Society accounted for $209,000 of that total.
One new giving circle is in Aurora, a town in Lawrence County, Missouri with 7,432 people as of the last census. Hometown Partners launched in early fall and is part of the Aurora Area Community Foundation.
Kim McCully-Mobley, teacher, storyteller and co-director of the Youth Empowerment Project at Aurora High School; Shannon Walker, director of the Aurora Area Chamber of Commerce; and Michele Parbury, coordinator of the Aurora CFO affiliate, recently gathered at a local coffee shop called Garden Exchange to talk about Hometown Partners.
The women are all involved in some way with the Aurora Area Community Foundation, and they’re all part of that group’s giving circle, which requires a $100 minimum donation to join. McCully-Mobley said the donation doesn’t have to be money – it can also be something of value.
"We can take land, we can take parts of interest, 401k, I mean, anything," she said. "My husband was joking. He's got an old tractor. He's like, 'so, do I get to vote with an old tractor?' And I said, 'well, we need to find out what it's worth first.' "
McCully-Mobley said every donation worth at least $100 to Hometown Partners each grant cycle equals one vote.
"The neat part is, everybody gets to vote," she said. "Everybody that's made a donation gets to have some say when it comes time to vote, and I think there's some real power in that. I think that's magical."
The plan is to take applications for funds in February or March, and to vote on where the money will go in the spring.
And if you don’t have $100 to give up front, McCully-Mobley said you can set up a monthly donation.
Hometown Partners has amassed around $2000 so far.
"We've had people donate in memory of people that we've lost that played vital roles in the community. We've had family members donate in honor of their family name," said McCully-Mobley. "I've got a class at school that came up with some money, and I matched it, and so that class will actually get one vote when it comes time to vote, and I think that's — you know, we're creating stakeholders for the future to have that interest in their community as well."
The more people that join, the bigger the impact will be.
That’s why Parbury and Walker said they hope more people – even those who no longer live in Aurora -- will hear about their giving circle and decide to join.
"Of course, we'd like to have more, you know, and have — our mouths are really loud," said Parbury. "You've got three of the biggest mouths in town right here across from you, but we still need to get the word out."
Walker added, "and I think part of it comes down to that folks will kind of be looking at their year end giving, and I feel like that we'll get more towards the end of the year to make up for this year. So, it'll happen. I'm very, very confident in it. It's a great opportunity for people who want to do some things in the community. They're maybe not really sure where or how to do it, and I think a lot of it comes to — for them to understand that you will have a voice in all of this."
The three women said they are excited to be part of something that they feel can have a big impact on their region.
McCully-Mobley said they’ve talked about creating a giving circle for months, and, now – to see the donations coming in and to know that it’s happening – it's a good feeling.
“I think of all my favorite Maya Angelou quotes and Martin Luther King quotes and different people, but the magic of giving and the power of taking that loaves and fishes approach where, together, we have so much more," said McCully-Mobley. I just think there's something really contagious about that, and I'm excited about that for our community.”
Walker said she's excited to see their giving circle get started, too, and to be part of it.
“I really feel like our community is growing," she said, "and this just shows that people are passionate about it, and so, once the decisions have been made, and the votes are all in, I feel like that people are going to say, 'you know, I was part of that. I get to be part of that.' ”
McCully-Mobley believes Hometown Partners’ impact will begin to domino as more and more people contribute.
"I think that the impact won't end maybe even in our lifetimes," she said. "I look at it as something that's just going to continue and grow and be perpetual, and I keep thinking of words like, you know, legacy. It's part of our legacy, which means we're going to be passing that torch to others and then they'll be passing it as well."
Other giving circles associated with CFO that have begun in the last year include the Benton County Philanthropic Society, Carthage 365, NVCCF Phil in Nevada/Vernon County, The Phil and Friends in Monett and the RepMo Philanthropic Society in Republic.
Support for the Making a Difference Series is provided by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
