Be The Earth hosted an inspiring webinar with Fellows from our Giving Circle Programme. This approach to philanthropy prioritises nurturing, inclusivity, and relationship-building to democratise the redistribution of wealth, minimise bureaucracy, and allow funds to reach people and projects beyond the scope of traditional philanthropy.
Giving circles emerged as an innovation in philanthropy in the early 1990s and have expanded exponentially since the 2000s, particularly in the US. Popularised by Washington Women’s Foundation’s founder Colleen S. Willoughby as ‘the way women give,’ this methodology emphasises collaboration, shared decision-making, and community-building to redistribute wealth, inherently challenging traditional models of patriarchy, financial power, and decision-making.
Be The Earth has been running a Giving Circle programme for two years now. We convene six women, all activists and thought leaders, to collectively distribute funds to individuals, projects, and communities across our three core geographies: the UK, Brazil and South Africa.
This webinar explores the methodology, learnings, insights, struggles, and successes of our Giving Circle, aiming to inspire and catalyse further change towards dismantling existing power structures and a philanthropy that truly serves the communities it claims to support.