Giving Circle Lifecycle

Every giving circle is unique – a once-in-a-lifetime coming together of individuals focused on addressing specific issues and/or improving conditions in a particular community. Therefore, it’s impossible to say exactly how any giving circle will develop and change over the years. This is part of what makes giving circles so much fun – just like snowflakes, no two giving circles are alike!

There are, however, some typical stages of development that giving circles pass through. Being aware of these stages can help in your planning. Using the five stages identified by Judith Sharken Simon in her book, 5 Life Stages of Nonprofit Organizations (Wilder Foundation, 2001), we describe ways that giving circles approach each phase of development:

Stage One: Imagine and Inspire
Stage Two: Found and Frame
Stage Three: Ground and Grow
Stage Four: Produce and Sustain
Stage Five: Review and Renew

Stage One: Imagine and Inspire ("Can the dream be realized?")
Giving Circle founders have an idea, get excited about it, and start telling others. As the excitement grows, founders think of ways to make the idea a reality.

Primary tasks: 

  • Define the circle – choosing an issue, funding, membership
  • Recruit members
  • Create a circle “culture” – style, approach

Stage Two: Found and Frame ("How are we going to pull this off?")
The core group of circle members make a lot of decisions – who should be involved, how much money to raise, where to house the circle, what the issue focus should be – all the practical parameters for the circle are set.

Primary tasks:

Stage Three: Ground and Grow ("How can we build this to be viable?")
At this stage, members look to structures – sometimes committees, sometimes creating written materials – to make sure the giving circle has some consistency and momentum. As the group moves toward its second grant cycle, it may make changes that will enable the circle to add more members and raise more money.

Primary tasks:

  • Address communications – internal and external
  • Grow the circle – how large will the circle be?
  • Develop systems – how to keep the circle functioning smoothly?
  • Sustain member involvement past the first flush of excitement

Stage Four: Produce and Sustain ("How can the momentum be sustained?")
After a couple of grant cycles, circle leaders may start to look at long-term sustainability issues.

Primary tasks:

  • Address leadership succession planning
  • Define administrative procedures and funding
  • Provide orientation for new members
  • Offer differentiated learning experiences for members at different levels

Stage Five: Review and Renew ("What do we need to redesign?")
Just when everything seems to be in place, you may find yourself looking to make changes. Circle members examine questions like: What’s working well? How could we have greater impact? Are we satisfied with the diversity of our membership? How do we know we’re finding the best projects to fund?
 
Primary tasks:

Giving circles pass through these stages at different times. Some may spend a lot of time working on sustainability, while others find that shaping the initial parameters occupies them the longest. You may find that “reviewing and renewing” is a constant process; as you carry out tasks, members seek new ways of making things work. 

Being aware of these growth stages can help you anticipate tasks and questions your circle will soon need to address, and help members adjust to changes that occur.