Thursday, September 9, 2010
Posted by Priscilla Macy on December 6, 2009
Check out the “Girl Effect” capturing the powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society.
This is why the GSGC is inspired to support girls and education!
Posted by Priscilla Macy on October 26, 2009
Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie gives us a simple yet enlightening insight about expanding our cultural understanding… take a few minutes to listen in to hear her powerful message.
Posted by Priscilla Macy on October 22, 2008
Written by Jerri Greenwald, Agreed to by members 06/08
SECTION 1 – Mission
The Giving Circle is a community of individuals who pool their time, talent and financial resources in order to make grants that support sustainable grassroots projects which improve the lives of children and conserve wildlife in sub-Saharan Africa. The Giving Circle seeks to develop close and direct connections with those projects and increase members’ knowledge of the issues and best practices of international philanthropy.
SECTION 2 – Objectives
The objectives of the Giving Circle are as follows:
A. Sustainable Development
1.) Focus on supporting small, sustainable, well managed projects where a small amount of funds can make a significant difference.
2.) Use an in-depth vetting system to determine which projects to
support and for how long.
B. Member Education and Connection
1.) Make it a priority to build a sense of community and knowledge
among the members and a connection with the projects being funded.
2.) Develop a connection with the projects through regular
communications and occasional visits.
3.) Provide members with information about the projects through regular updates and a website.
4.) Provide members with education through conference calls, web
seminars and mailings.
5.) Provide members with opportunities to visit the projects in person.
Such visits would be organized solely under the auspices of the Global
Sojourns adventure travel company, and not The Clarence Foundation.
C. Management
1.) Raise and donate at least $15,000/year with the goal of increasing
that amount by about 20% annually.
2.) Keep administrative costs per annum as low as possible.
SECTION 3 – Name
The name of the giving circle is “Global Sojourns Giving Circle.” The Giving Circle is a philanthropic initiative of its founder Global Sojourns, which provides financial, logistics and communications support.
SECTION 4 – Host
The Giving Circle is hosted by The Clarence Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization which acts as its distributor (for a fee) of grants made by the Giving Circle, and receiver on behalf of the Giving Circle of donations which are deductible from income tax to the extent permitted by applicable law. The Clarence Foundation assists with guidance for the grantmaking process and provides some communications and educational support.
SECTION 5 – Membership
All financial contributors to the Giving Circle are members of the Giving Circle. However, the level of financial contributions determines the extent of participation in the affairs of the Giving Circle, as follows:
A. Financial contributors of less than $365 per year shall be entitled to receive quarterly e-mail newsletters from the Giving Circle, participate in periodic educational/informative conference calls and receive acknowledgement of tax deductible contribution from the Clarence Foundation. (”General Members”)
B. Financial contributors of $365 or more per year are entitled to the benefits of A., above, and to participation in Global Sojourns Giving Circle trips, periodic e-mail updates, vote on the organization’s Guiding Principles when they need updating, and to vote on projects considered for Giving Circle grants. (”Voting Members”)
C. Financial contributors of $1,000 or more per annum are entitled to the benefits of A. and B. above as well as special recognition in a manner to be determined by the Guiding Circle.
SECTION 6 – Governance
A. Coordinator
The Guiding Circle shall select a Coordinator who shall be responsible for maintaining regular communication with the Members and Projects.
B. Committees
1) Guiding Circle; comprised of the founder of Global Sojourns, the Giving Circle Coordinator and two Giving Circle Voting Member volunteers. The Guiding Circle shall meet on a monthly basis by conference call (more often as needed). The Guiding Circle shall act as a guidance committee with responsibilities for Giving Circle leadership and activities, including notes of meetings and Giving Circle actions.
2) Grant Making Circle;
comprised of not less than 4 nor more than 8 Voting Member volunteers which shall vet projects (in line with the grantmaking criteria of the Giving Circle and The Clarence Foundation), monitor current projects and make recommendations to the Members regarding potential grantees. The Grant Making Circle shall meet by conference call approximately 3 times per year.
3) Education/Communications Circle; comprised of Members who volunteer to assist in organizing conference calls, information on the website, web seminars, presentations, thank you notes and newsletter. All updates/communications shall be electronic.
4) Fundraising Circle;
comprised of Members who volunteer to seek additional funding
sources/projects (e.g. grants and fundraising activities).
5) Project Circles;
each comprised of Members who volunteer to implement Members’
interests and enthusiasms; ideas include: local groups gathering for
social/fund-raising/educational purposes; book groups (topics related to the locations/issues of the projects); children’s projects; activities such as social or educational gatherings in member homes.
6) Commitment:
Volunteer members of the Guiding Circle and Grant Making Circle will
be asked to make a commitment of two years.
ARTICLE 7 – Grant Making
A. The Grant Making Circle shall identify prospective grantees and solicit written grant applications for consideration by the Giving Circle in coordination with The Clarence Foundation, consistent with the
grantmaking criteria of the Giving Circle and The Clarence Foundation.
B. The Grant Making Circle shall review grant applications in order to:
1) Determine if the application meets the goals of the Giving Circle, and 2) Consider the desirability of making additional grants in successive years and in declining amounts to previous grantees which meet initial targets.
C. The Grant Making Circle shall research grant applicants by any or all of the following means:
1) Visits or meetings with applicants as available.
2) Requests for written materials or documentation.
3) Telephone coordination with applicants as necessary.
D. The Grant Making Circle shall recommend grant applicants and funding levels to present to the membership of the Giving Circle.
E. The Grant Making Circle shall send the description of the applicant
organizations and a summary of the projects recommended to be funded to the Voting Members via email at least two weeks prior to the vote on the grant application.
F. The grantmaking cycle runs from October through September. Grant recipients are typically selected by August by the Giving Circle and funds are then dispersed by the Clarence Foundation. Voting on grant awards will typically take place in August of each year or as determined by the Grant Making Circle
G. The Giving Circle will recommend to The Clarence Foundation grantees and grant amounts based on the amount of funds in its donation pool maintained by The Clarence Foundation, with final disbursements approved by The Clarence Foundation Board in accordance with its legal and fiscal responsibilities. The Clarence Foundation will provide to the Guiding Circle regular updates of the amount of funds in the donation pool.
SECTION 8 – Evaluation
A. Grantees shall be requested to measure the impact of Giving Circle grants, advising the Giving Circle of both the impact and the criteria for measurement.
B. The Guiding Circle shall evaluate the effectiveness of grants, considering one-time increase in services, improvement of quality of services, improvement of facilities, and/or process change that strengthens the grantee.
SECTION 9 – Voting
All voting referred to in these guiding principles may be made by mail, email and/or conference telephone call as determined by the Guiding Circle.
SECTION 10 – Amendments
These guiding principles may be altered and changed at any time by a majority of the Voting Members.
*A PDF version can be found here.
