How Starting or Joining a Giving Circle Can Help Your Business

Starting or joining a Giving Circle gives you the opportunity to give back to the causes that you care about with a group of like-minded people. This means that you’re not only able to make a larger impact every time you give, but you’re also able to expand your network and get to know others with the shared value of giving back.

Realtor and leader of 100 Women Who Care Bucks County, Lynne Kelleher, recently spoke to Jimmy Burgess about how Giving Circles can help facilitate relationship-building and growth for your business. You can find the full interview here. We’ve compiled Lynne’s insights around leveraging your participation in a local Giving Circle to both grow your business and give back in a meaningful way.

Organizing charity events related to your industry can be time-intensive and may not yield much in terms of donations. In the above interview, Lynne mentioned auctions that she ran as a businesswoman that did not net nearly as much money for charity as her Giving Circle has, but were far harder to organize. As the leader of a 100 Women Who Care Giving Circle, she's able to gather with 250+ other women for one hour per quarter, learn about nonprofits helping her local community, and collectively donate more than $25k to their chosen charity.

Lynne founded her Giving Circle back in 2014 with 35 other women who she knew personally. Her Giving Circle began to grow as the original members started inviting other people in their personal networks. In this way, Lynne was able to meet new people and increase her sphere of influence while making a difference for her community. Giving Circles make it simple to find more people who share your passions, and as you increase your network, you can increase your impact and the reach of your business.

As the leader of her Giving Circle, Lynne is the person sending correspondence about meetings and donations. Now, those in her circle don’t only think of her as a realtor, but also as the community leader and generous philanthropist that she is. Additionally, Lynne has gotten press and notoriety as the founder of her Giving Circle and has even helped some new Giving Circles to get started. Lynne’s group meets regularly for free at a country club. Community-based Giving Circles open the door to sponsorship opportunities like this one as well as brand exposure for leaders and members.

Grapevine hosts many professional network-focused groups where members give back to their communities while broadening their networks. Groups like the Denver Women in Business for Good Giving Circle have over 420 members who have come together to come together to raise over $25k for local nonprofits.

Ready to help your business by joining a Giving Circle or starting one of your own? Click below to get started on Grapevine today!