Gauging the impact of grassroots philanthropy

Winner, Grenzebach Award

In the contemporary United States, third parties are being relied upon to deliver social services that were once chiefly the responsibility of government. Among the new philanthropic associations that have arisen in this environment are voluntary groups known as giving circles. Their purpose is to bring people together to pool resources and then collectively decide how to distribute them. Giving circles have been seen as the most democratic of philanthropic mechanisms, working to meet social needs and solve community problems, while enhancing the civic education and participation of their members. Angela M. Eikenberry examines this new phenomenon and considers what role voluntary associations and philanthropy can or should play in a democratic society.

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This book is positioned as a riposte to Robert Putnam's famous assertion that we are now 'Bowling Alone' due to the collapse of community. Eikenberry believes that giving circles are one example of a new form of citizen participation which demonstrates that it may be the forms rather than the quantities of engagement that have changed in recent years. Giving circles involve pooling donations and making collective decisions about how to give the pooled funds away. Data on the size, scope and impact of the giving circle movement are provided. The wider scope of this book is a result of Eikenberry's belief that giving circles are more than just a new method for organising the transfer of funds from private individuals to good causes. This is an ambitious and readable account of the appropriate role for voluntary action in modern societies, and poses an important argument that as philanthropy is primarily designed to meet the needs of donors rather than recipients, there is an essential ongoing role for government in meeting basic social welfare needs.

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This is an ambitious and readable account of the appropriate role for voluntary action in modern societies, and poses an important argument that as philanthropy is primarily designed to meet the needs of donors rather than recipients, there is an essential ongoing role for government in meeting basic social welfare needs.Issue 38, Sept. 2009

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In sum, this book uses original data and presents a novel approach to group politics that should be explored further by scholars from various disciplines. ...Recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduate students, and above.March 2010

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By illuminating small philanthropic organizations and participatory groups, Giving Circles makes a valuable contribution toward a more comprehensive understanding of the voluntary sector. 39(5)