94. The People Behind the Products: How Giving Circles Support Belonging, Community and Your Fundraising with Emily Rasmussen

Giving Circles have been around as a concept since the 1980s, but in combination with new technologies, those circles are wider and more generous than ever before. As we learn from Emily Rasmussen, my guest on this episode of What the Fundraising, having a platform around which to congregate strengthens the communities that are fueling movements. She founded Grapevine in 2018 specifically to facilitate multiple small donations – maximizing their impact and helping to connect the dots between people and organizations. We know that more collaboration equals more momentum. Pooling resources only expands the pie (which is another reason why a scarcity mindset does no one any favors). 

In this conversation, you’ll learn about the different models for Giving Circles, what kinds of networks have been most successful thus far, and how technology can aggregate and amplify the interests of small donors and the community. Emily is sharing key ingredients to keep in mind when setting up a Giving Circle modality and highlights the importance of putting an intentional framework in place. “Nonprofits are recognizing this model and seeing the power,” says Emily. “This is a movement. It's only accelerating!” We’re leaving you with lots of points of entry for moving your nonprofit into the fast lane with this form of turbocharged fundraising – and the community purpose it stewards and grows.

Get all the resources from today’s episode here. 

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Please note: This episode is a part of a very special series called The People Behind the Products. More than ever, nonprofits care about the company behind their technology and service providers. What’s the underlying mission and vision of the company? What do they stand for? And how are they thinking about the sector and serving nonprofits? This series is an opportunity to get to know some of my favorite nonprofit technology companies so that the next time you’re making a tech decision, you can understand a little bit more about the people behind the product. There is no sponsorship or industry money behind the production of this series and the editorial content was at the sole discretion of the What the Fundraising team.