Below is a list that GCN has researched and compiled, totaling more than 300 Giving Circles based in the United States that give largely to local communities (see location below), but also some of which give to communities overseas.  We initially established a basic list from our own Giving Circles Advisory Panel and subsequently expanded it by scanning  the media and internet (see our News section).  We have since been sent leads and updates from new Giving Circles themselves and researchers in the field.  Lastly, there is also a new site for Giving Circles Meetup groups where Giving Circles can be found (see below). Note that many Giving Circles do not have websites and can be quite informal, so not all have website links available.  As Giving Circles are changing and being created daily, we recommend that you conduct your own searches and obtain referrals from the following Giving Circles regarding additional ones in your area.  If you have any Giving Circles to recommend or any changes to this list, please contact us.*

Internationally Based Giving Circles or Organizations Supporting Giving Circles:

• Australian Women Donors Network (Australia)
• The Good Rock Foundation Meetup Group (Hong Kong, China)

United States

Giving Circles located in the U.S.

US-Northeast & Mid-Atlantic:   

Connecticut / Delaware / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New York / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / Virginia / West Virginia / Vermont / Washington, DC Metro Area

Alabama

- Birmingham Change Fund (Birmingham, AL)

- Womenade Chapters in:

Birmingham, AL

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

Arkansas

- University of Arkansas Women's Giving Circle (Fayetteville, AR)

Florida

- Funding Arts Network “FAN” (Miami-Dade County, FL)

- Impact 100 (Pensacola Bay, FL)

- People with a Heart Foundation (Orlando, FL)

- Smart Women with Spare Change (Key Biscayne, FL)

- The Children's Home Society of Florida Mentor Meetup Group (Pensacola, FL)

- Volunteer Vixens (Orlando, FL)

- Women's Fund of Miami-Dade County

- Women's Giving Circle hosted by The Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (Daytona Beach, FL)

- Women Supporting the Arts (Martin County, FL)

- Womenade Chapters in:

Sebastian, FL
Palm Beach, FL

Jacksonville, FL

Tampa, FL

Georgia

- Brendan Lillis Words Giving Circle (Alpharetta, GA) *Global Giving Circle - See Summary

- Single Parents Giving Circle (Newnan, GA)

- Womenade Chapters in:

Atlanta, GA

Kentucky

- Impact 100 Owensboro (Owensboro, KY)

Louisiana

- Zawadi of New Orleans Giving Circle (New Orleans, LA)

Mississippi

There are no known Giving Circles in Mississippi.  If you are aware of or have started one, please contact us.

North Carolina

South Carolina

- Chicks with Checks (Charleston, SC)

- Dining for Women (Greenville, SC)

- Upstate Giving Circle (Seneca, SC)

- Women Making A Difference (Charleston, SC)

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

Tennessee

- Chattanooga Youth Giving Circle (Chattanooga, TN) via the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Inc.

- Purses with Purpose (Tennessee Valley)

Colorado

- Denver African American Philanthropists (DAAP) (Denver, CO)

- Front Porch Giving Circle (Colorado Springs, CO)

- Social Venture Partners / Boulder County (CO)

- Warren Village Giving Circle (Denver, CO)

- Womenade Chapters in:

La Plata, CO

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

Indiana

 - Impact 100 - Indianapolis (Indianapolis , IN)

- Womenade Chapters in:

Gary, IN

Linton, IN

Danville, IN

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

Illinois

 - Asian Women's Giving Circle (Chicago, IL) hosted by the Chicago Community Trust

- Latino Giving Circle (Chicago, IL) hosted by the Chicago Community Trust

- Nuestro Futuro (Chicago, IL) hosted by the Chicago Community Trust

- Sistuh Circle or Sistuhs on the Move (Chicago, IL)

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

Iowa

- Mercy Alliance for Women's Health (Sioux City, IA)

- Women's Philanthropy Healthcare Fund (Sioux City, IA)

Kansas

- 360^o of Giving – Learn, Share & Grow Through Philanthropy (Kansas City, KS)

- Womenade Chapters in:

Wyandotte, KS

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

Michigan

- Three Generations Circle of Women Givers (Traverse City, MI)

- Womenade Chapters in:

Detroit, MI

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

Minnesota

- Community Capital Alliance (Twin Cities) & Their Story

- Hmong Women’s Giving Circle of Minnesota (HWGC)

- Roo Solutions Community (Minneapolis, MN)

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

Missouri

- Womenade Chapters in:

Hannibal, MO

Nebraska

- Women's Fund of Greater Omaha (Omaha, NE)

- Womenade Chapters in:

Lincoln, NE

Omaha, NE

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

North Dakota

- Womenade - Red River Valley (Fargo, ND)

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

Ohio

- Cleveland Colectivo (Cleveland, OH)

- Cleveland Giving Circle (hosted by JWI in Washington, DC for Cleveland-area organizations)

- Impact 100, Inc. (Cincinnati, OH)

- Womenade Chapters in:

Springfield, OH

Oklahoma

- Impact Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, OK)

- Women Impacting Tulsa (Tulsa, OK)

South Dakota

- Check Also:  Giving Circle Chapters in this State

Wisconsin

- African American Women's Fund Project, hosted by the Women's Fund of Greater Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)

- Belles, Books and Candor (Found via the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation) (Oshkosh, WI)

- Children's Giving Circle (Wisconsin Rapids, WI)

- Dining For Women Chapters (Go to Dining for Women, look under "Get Involved" and find chapters in this State):

Burlington, WI

Fort Atkinson, WI

Milwaukee, WI

- Eddie's Book Club (Milwaukee, WI)

- Everyday Philanthropists of Greater Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)

- Giving Empowers my Sisters or "G.E.M.S." (Acorn Giving Circle Fund set up under the Women's Fund umbrella via the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation - Go to "Funds" and click on "Giving Circles") (Oshkosh, WI)

- iHeart Company! (Milwaukee, WI)

- Giving Circle of Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)

- Latinas en Acción, hosted by the Women's Fund of Greater Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)

- Lesbian Fund Project, hosted by the Women's Fund of Greater Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)

- M³ Fund (under the "Acorn Fund" of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation - Go to "Funds" and click on "Giving Circles")  (Oshkosh, WI)

- Women in Medicine Fund - The Women in Medicine Fund is a Giving Circle under the Women's Fund of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation - Go to "Funds" and click on "Giving Circles", supporting women's and girls' issues in Winnebago County. (Winnebago County, WI)

- Wine Ladies Fund (under the "Women's Fund" of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation - Go to "Funds" and click on "Giving Circles") (Oshkosh, WI)

- Women and Girls Fund of Waukesha County (Waukesha County, WI)

- Women's Fund of Madison (Madison, WI)

- Womenade Chapters in:

Dousman, WI

Madison, WI

Milwaukee, WI

Oconomowoc, WI

Waukesha, WI

- Young N.U.T.S (Never Underestimate the Sisterhood)- (Acorn Giving0 Circle Fund of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation;  Go to "Funds" and click on "Giving Circles") (Oshkosh, WI)

- Check Also for: Other Giving Circle Chapters in this State

US-Southwest

Arizona / California / New Mexico / Nevada / Texas

US-Northwest & Mountain

Idaho / Montana / Oregon / Utah / Washington / Wyoming

- Global Sojourns (Arlington, VA):  This is a new global Giving Circle working in cooperation with the Clarence Foundation.  While Global Sojourns offers itself as a resource for extraordinary and "off-the-beaten-track" travel, it has more recently created a Giving Circle as a means to complement their activities and provide their travellers with a means to give back after their sojourns.  In addition to becoming more actively and constructively engaged in giving, this Giving Circle also seeks to educate individuals about global giving.

- Go Philanthropic Giving Circles (Rochester, NY):  This is a new global Giving Circle working in cooperation with Go Philanthropic, an "innovative socially-conscious travel company committed to helping individuals and small groups create meaningful life experiences through Travel Philanthropy in some of the world’s most inspiring destinations."  Their Giving Circle trips are "made up of former travelers, colleagues, and other individuals who are interested in contributing in a specific way" to partner non-profit organizations. The group pools funds ($500-1000 each) and then travels to the location of the project to be personally involved in the contribution and to experience first-hand the value of the work being accomplished. All projects are aimed at poverty alleviation and sustainable development through education, women’s empowerment, fresh water, and microfinance programs."  Go Philanthropic encourages individuals to "create their own Giving Circle" by "...gathering your own group of friends and colleagues and set your own funding goals", and Go Philanthropic will them assist in "matching you with a project and creating a trip of a lifetime for your group:  Fund a water well in Africa and go on Safari, fill a school with books in Vietnam, sponsor and meet the most promising scholarship students in Cambodia near Angkor Wat"  As with all of their travel programs, GoPhilanthropic Giving Circle trips also include "visiting the region’s most notable sights and have unique, authentic cultural experiences. All trips are carbon-offset."

- Palo Alto Giving Circle (Palo Alta, CA):  San Francisco Bay Area based global giving circle, which allotted $57,750 among six different organizations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, including for vulnerable youth, recycling and and girl's health and education.

- Global Giving Circle (New York, NY):  "The Global Giving Circle is a network of individuals who come together to support creative and innovative solutions to alleviate poverty.  They believe that anyone who gives their time or money to meaningful causes – regardless of their income – is a philanthropist. Furthermore, we believe that giving can be fulfilling, stimulating and fun.  They support an array of hand picked grassroots organizations that offer innovative approaches to the world's most pervasive humanitarian problem: poverty." (Source:  Global Giving Circle website "about us").

- Grantmakers Without Borders (Gw/oB) is a "...network of trustees and staff of public and private foundations as well as individual donors who practice global social change philanthropy." 

- Brendan Lillis Words Giving Circle (Alpharetta, GA):  BLWGC is sponsored by the Brendan Lillis Words Foundation, Inc. and presently focuses the circle on educational tools for (providing internet access to) 580 school children from three communities in South Africa.  These tools seek to supplement the educational support already being given to the Blair Atholl schools, which are funded in large part from the interest on an endowment from the Gary Player Foundation.   

* GCN provides this list as an informational service only and does not in any way advocate or endorse any one Giving Circle by its presence on this list, nor does it make any claims about any one Giving Circle.  GCN relays information that is publicly available or  otherwise provided to GCN about Giving Circles and related forms of shared giving, whether such organizations are formal or informal in nature.  It is the responsibility of each Giving Circle to ensure their legal and financial status as may apply or be required by law -- the federal government and/or their respective states or counties. 

If your Circle is on this list and wishes to be removed or to have the link or any other information updated, please contact us.

  ^YIP Signifies "Youth in Philanthropy".