There’s so much value in connection with others, the sense of belonging, the learning…Often, participating in a giving circle leads people to then have a bigger philanthropic and civic life.
Transcript:
This podcast was transcribed through a third-party application. Please disregard any misrepresentations.
Brad Caruso:
<silence> Welcome to Civic Warriors, brought to you by Withum. On this podcast, we bring the conversation to you, sharing, engaging stories that motivate and build consensus in the nonprofit community. This podcast is about the innovators, the leaders on the front lines of adversity, guiding lights in the nonprofit industry affecting change. And through their stories, we can all join forces to become civic warriors. Hey, warriors. Welcome to today's episode of Civic Warriors, brought to you by Withum. I'm your host, Brad Caruso, leader of Withum's not-for-profit practice. Today's guest is Emily Rasmussen, founder and CEO of Grapevine Giving. Grapevine accelerates the collective giving movement by connecting people to grow the greater good. Grapevine is the only platform dedicated to giving circles, which help hundreds of groups around the country, direct funds to thousands of nonprofits. Grapevine Giving Foundation is a 501(c3) organization and is the public charity arm of Grapevine Giving. Uh, GGF is on a mission to revolutionize philanthropy through the power of collective giving. GGF facilitates charitable donations, offers tax receipts, and provides additional philanthropic resources like seed funding and donation matching to giving circles. In this way, GGF helps Grapevine, extend their commitment to growing and propelling the Giving Circle movement. So with that said, Emily, welcome to the show.
Emily Rasmussen:
Thank you so much. Thrilled to be here.
Brad Caruso:
Me too. This is a innovative topic and an interesting one that, uh, we appreciate having your insight, knowledge, and expertise on. So, you know, first thing I always like to just ask is, can you share a little bit of background on yourself and, um, how did Grapevine Giving start and how did you get involved in this movement?
Emily Rasmussen:
Sure. Happy to share. Um, yeah, I think, so where I started, uh, was not in the Giving Circle movement and then looking to build tools for it. I actually got started in the social impact space in the microfinance area. So I was interning at the United Nations when I was in undergrad, and at that time, microfinance was very hot, right? It was, um, it was kind of all the rage at the moment and very exciting new model. And, uh, and so I became, um, very interested in that model and, and did quite a bit of work on that. And during my studies and my last year at school, and ultimately ended up moving to India after graduating to work in microfinance for a few years. And through that I really had this, um, incredible experience there and opportunity to work within communities across different areas of India, specifically focused on developing microfinance program.
Emily Rasmussen:
And I think what I, what I really took away from that experience was a deep connection to and belief in the power of community-based financing and getting funds into the hands of community members so that they could decide where to invest it and the what to do, um, to create the most impact for their communities. And it was around that time that Kiva was taking off and Kickstarter was just about to launch. So it was also the early days of crowdfunding. I did not have a technology background, but I was very excited about this concept of technology, helping to facilitate more of this kind of funding, helping to unlock funds from communities, for communities around the world. So that's what got me started on, on that path. And I ultimately, after working in microfinance for a few more years, uh, and getting the opportunity to travel to different countries and work in different communities with this model, I went to business school to pursue this idea of bringing technology into that work and how that could further help us democratize philanthropy.
Emily Rasmussen:
And, uh, I had the opportunity to intern, or excuse me, to, um, yeah, I guess intern with, uh, with Kickstarter while I was in business school and do some consulting work for them. Uh, I also launched a crowdfunding platform while I was in school and explored what that could look like. And, and that was really my first experience with technology and building a technology, uh, product. And I still wasn't quite sure how all of this was going to come together, uh, to create something that felt like the right approach for this idea that I had around really trying to go beyond the transactional crowdfunding campaign and think about how to build more of that community connection and impact that I, I believed in so much from my microfinance work. So spent a few years in the nonprofit space and ultimately out of all of that, uh, came up with this idea of building a more collaborative, purposeful giving platform. And that was the early days of grapevine. We actually, in our earliest days, were experimenting with what that could look like, and a few giving circles discovered us and reached out, so didn't actually know what giving circles were, and that this was even a model out there until that kind of fortuitous moment where they discovered us. And that's really where we started building with and, and for that community.
Brad Caruso:
Love it. Yeah. And, and in our not-for-profit, you know, world that we operate in every day, I think that, like you said, you know, getting, getting the funds into the hands of the people that are doing the work, that understand the community that they're working in, you know, we, we know it's a not a one size fits all model. People like lumping the word nonprofit and say everybody's a nonprofit and they're all the same, and it can't be farther from the truth. And, you know, you can go from an organization that is a soup kitchen in a local town, which is specific to that local town all the way up to an institution of higher education, which is national. And you could say those are both nonprofits, <laugh>, and so yes,
Emily Rasmussen:
Yes, a lot of variation. Yeah.
Brad Caruso:
It's a significant amount of variation and certainly, uh, appreciate this concept that we're talking about today and how you do ultimately get to the point of making the most impact, which is awesome. Um, I always like knowing, but can you share where the name Grapevine comes from?
Emily Rasmussen:
Sure. It comes from some early brainstorming with, uh, a few of us team members. And we wanted something catchy. We wanted something that felt connected. This whole idea of giving circles, of collaborative giving, your sharing, there's, uh, the sharing of great work in organizations. There's the learning from each other, there's the collaboration and collective impact that the model facilitates. So we wanted something that felt connected and also organic because these groups have really organically developed, this movement has organically developed. So we had these different concepts that we were playing around with different names, um, that we felt represented them. And then after coming up with our shortlist, it was a simple exercise of doing a bunch of Google searches and seeing what was actually available, right? And what we could get URLs for and all of those good things. And so Grapevine was what we ended up with.
Brad Caruso:
Love it. It's very, very fitting with, uh, with what you do, uh, on a variety level. So I always, always appreciate hearing that. And, and that's great. You, you were able to obtain that name and come up with it. You know, you mentioned in, in your introduction and about the organization, you know, you used the word Giving Circle several times. You know, obviously that's the, uh, big crux of, of your organization and what you do and, and who you interact with. Can you go a little bit further in, in defining, giving circle, you know, what does it mean and, and how does it, how does it work, you know, as a giving circle?
Emily Rasmussen:
Absolutely. Yeah. So a giving circle is really a simple concept. It's about a group of people that come together, pool their resources and collaborate to make a bigger impact as a group. Typically what that looks like is a group of people that are pooling donations and then collaborating to decide where to grant that money. Uh, but often it also includes volunteer opportunities, opportunities to raise awareness about organizations, right? So it's not just about the dollars in these groups. Often there's something called the Six Ts of philanthropy, and we think about giving circles as being a really wonderful way to facilitate that. Uh, the first T is treasure. So yes, we're donating, we're pooling our money and supporting nonprofits financially. But the other five Ts are time, talent, testimony, ties, and trust. All of these Ts represent a way that you can support nonprofits, that you can support your community and give back.
Emily Rasmussen:
And, uh, when you approach giving back and impact in this very community-based way, very local way, often those opportunities often come up. And so people really get that opportunity to, to amplify their impact. And just to give you one, one specific model, because there, this is a grassroots movement, it is a community-led movement, which means there's a lot of variety. Uh, some people say if you've met one giving circle, you've met one giving circle, right? And so someone else is going to organize their giving circle in a different way. But there is, there are different models and different approaches, uh, to how this work is done. The most popular model that we know of on our platform and also more broadly, is a model where a group of a hundred people come together, everyone pitches in a hundred dollars. So now they have a $10,000 check to give to a nonprofit. Members can nominate nonprofits for the group to consider. And ultimately, three finalists are presented to the group, and there's a vote. Whichever organization gets the most votes, gets that $10,000 check, and then they do it all again three months later. So in this model, essentially each member's donating the cost of one lunch per month, roughly, but collectively they're moving $40,000 per year to four different nonprofits in their community.
Brad Caruso:
It certainly works getting the hands into the organizations and, and, you know, given the collectiveness of, you know, the vote process, I, I appreciate that. 'cause you know, everyone's, everyone's voice is heard and you know, obviously, I mean, all amounts of money are good to give to organizations, but when you can generate enough and, and from an efficiency perspective, you know, make one gift to an organization, it certainly, uh, goes a long way. Certainly an interesting model, but proven, and I
Emily Rasmussen:
Would just add to that, that, that that is one model that is very compelling. But there are so many different ways that people are organizing themselves to, to give in this collaborative way that, that there, where there is amplified impact, whether they're asking nonprofits to actually apply some of the larger giving circles where members might be donating a thousand dollars, five or 10 or $50,000 per person, then they're giving grants of 50 or a hundred thousand dollars or more to nonprofits. And in that case, they might ask nonprofits to apply, they might invite them in. There are other models where there's more of an expert led approach where there's some subject matter experts that might be helping to guide where the donations are going. So there's still participation from the members, but still some additional expertise that helps to guide where dollars can be most impactful.
Emily Rasmussen:
So different ways around how nonprofits are identified and considered, and also different amounts of dollars that are donated, grant sizes, and even different sizes of communities. I mentioned one that has a hundred members, but we see small families, right? Or book clubs, groups of five or 10 people organizing giving circles, and then much larger giving circles that are connected to thought leaders or, you know, just bigger social groups, uh, that might have hundreds of members in them and that are giving collectively. So, uh, it really is a model that can be adopted and adapted by a broad range of communities to fit their goals and, um, and needs.
Brad Caruso:
Love it. Yeah, and there's definitely, you know, I know in my experience I've seen employee giving campaigns exist out there. I participated in a, you know, working with one organization where they, you know, elect leaders in a community to say, Hey, raise money for us and, and, you know, make an impact. And, you know, if you're close to the cause obviously you're like, absolutely, I'm happy to do that. And, you know, you provide that on a larger scale than just, you know, one organization. And, and I think that that's where, you know, you increase the impact that you're making on the world. From that perspective, you started on the front end of the Giving Circle on the back end of the Giving Circle. You have a nonprofit that's a recipient of funding. Should nonprofits know if you're a nonprofit in a local community, what should you know about giving circles or how, you know, how do you get involved with, with this model that you've created?
Emily Rasmussen:
Yes. Well first, congratulations if you're a nonprofit listening to this podcast and you're learning about them, because the first thing is you should know about them. I'm still surprised at how many people don't know about them. So there's still a lot of work to be done to raise awareness. The second thing is to do your research. There is a global Giving Circle directory that we built in collaboration with our Partner of Philanthropy together that has mapped the 4,000 plus giving circles that we know of. And so if you go to grapevine.org and go to our resources, you'll find a link to that directory on our site, and you'll be able to search for giving circles near you, giving circles focused on different cause areas. And this is a great way to learn more about different giving circles that might be interested in your work and maybe even put together a short list of giving circles that you think are a good fit for the work that you do and might be interested in supporting you.
Emily Rasmussen:
Most giving circles do have a member nomination process, so you can't necessarily apply to the Giving Circle directly, but what you can do is, one, do that research and see, because some you can apply to. And then secondly, I always recommend to nonprofits, once you have your shortlist, share that with your existing board members, your existing ambassadors, people that are great supporters of yours, and invite them to join this incredible community of people who also care about this location or these causes. And, um, learn and build community with others and be an advocate for you in that space, right? So that when the opportunity does come up, you have someone in there who can nominate you for consideration. So I would definitely recommend that for nonprofits. There's also some good resources for nonprofits. Again, we have some on our website, but if you search on Google, you'll find other resources from Philanthropy Together, like I mentioned and more talking about how nonprofits can connect with giving circles and also, uh, even consider starting their own Giving Circle model.
Emily Rasmussen:
This is, this is something that's a little bit of a different version of the traditional giving circle because in this model, essentially a nonprofit starts their own community of recurring donors where all the money goes to that nonprofit. So it's more akin to like a community centered recurring donor program, if you would. But that is, uh, something we're seeing more and more nonprofits doing as they're learning about this model and doing quite well, and it's enabling them to connect to a broader range of donors and more easily steward donors and, and keep them connected and retain them over a longer time. So that's another thing to consider, uh, if you're a nonprofit and wanting to explore how this model could be most helpful for you.
Brad Caruso:
Love it. And I appreciate you sharing that. And I, I know, uh, a lot of, a lot of, uh, individuals work at not-for-profit organizations that listen to this show. And certainly, uh, sharing those resources is helpful and getting more people involved, certainly great. So, for those out there, take head of Emily's advice here and check it out, there's definitely an opportunity for you there to, uh, increase your fundraising base.
Emily Rasmussen:
Absolutely. And I, I think the nice thing about it too is it gives people a sense of community and connection, right? So beyond the dollars, you're just building that community of supporters and you're also building an opportunity for your donors to invite others to be a part and to be connected to your work without it being a direct donation ask. And so when you start your own group, you really think about it as that building a community, not necessarily just soliciting a donation. And so I think it opens up when you think, when you know, to your question about what should nonprofits know about giving circles, I think it really does open up an additional way of connecting with people that invites people in in a different way that can either reignite a relationship with a lapsed donor or open the doors to new donors and new types of donors that you might not historically have been able to connect as well with.
Emily Rasmussen:
And in particular, I'll just say I've seen some nonprofits use this model quite effectively in that vein in thinking about what are some of the donor groups that we wanna connect with that are well represented within the Giving Circle movement. So for example, women are the ones who created this model in the early eighties. And even now, the research shows that 70 to 80% of giving circle members are women. And it's actually not too surprising when you look at the research around how women tend to give, there's research around how women and and men give and how they give differently. And what we see is that women tend to give to a broader range of causes to a broader range of nonprofits, and they really like to be collaborative in their giving. So it's not surprising when you think about those things, right, that this model really resonates with them.
Emily Rasmussen:
And so I've seen, for example, some universities looking to build out their engagement with women more and women donors. And this is a great model that they've been able to do that with because there's a value prop, if you will, that really appeals to that particular donor segment. Similarly, we've seen, um, nonprofits do the same thing in building out next gen donor bases. We have a whole range of next gen teens and college age giving circles, and we're seeing that group really adopting this model in an exciting way. And so, uh, when you think about trying to engage that donor group, this could also be a way that they would really get excited to connect with others like them interested in in your work and cause.
Brad Caruso:
Yeah, and, and I think, uh, it's also a two-way street. We talked about the nonprofit side, but I know, you know, just working in a 2,400 person firm, I have people all the time that are like, how do I get involved in a not-for-profit? And, and you've just shared like a great example. So maybe reiterate that point of, Hey, I'm an employee of Withum, I want to get involved in Give- Giving Circle. What do I do? How do I, how do I go about doing that? And I think a lot of people would take heed to that information. 'cause a lot of people are always thinking like, how do I get involved with the charity that I want to get involved with?
Emily Rasmussen:
I love that so much. And that's such a great point too because, uh, one, we do see giving circles being a great on-ramp for people into philanthropy, right? Because there's that question like, I, I, I care, I wanna give back. Maybe I recently moved to a new town Denver or somewhere, you know, and I, I want to connect, but how, where do I start? And giving circles are a really great way for local, um, community members to learn more from other community members and connect and build that sense of community and, and their own connection to the local community and people. So I think that's very compelling opportunity and, and one that we just see a lot of people really drawn to, right? It being something that a lot of people talk about. We also just see a lot of people who have nonprofits that they care about.
Emily Rasmussen:
Maybe you're on the other end and you say, I, I already know what I care about. I'm already giving to two or three organizations and I'm volunteering and you know, so I, I don't think this is for me. I would actually ask you reconsider that because in fact, if, you know, you can be such a valuable contributor to a giving circle by participating and sharing, you know, what causes are important in your local community, you know, organizations, you can bring that to others because so many other people don't know. And so there's so much value in you sharing that and so much opportunity for you to amplify your impact for that cause and that organization by educating other donors who care and who have resources and time to commit,
Brad Caruso:
Love it all, all great information and, and obviously for the overriding goal of getting funds to the right hands to do great work for the world. So, and appreciate you sharing more information about that. I know, you know, one other arm of this, there's also the company environment, right? Um, you know, companies I imagine are using giving circles to engage their employees. So obviously, you know, we talked about an individual side of things, but hey, I work for a large company. How do you get involved? You know, can you delve into this and what it looks like for a corporation that maybe wants to be involved in a giving circle?
Emily Rasmussen:
Absolutely. We want more corporations involved. We've been really excited to see this newer expansion, I would say, of the movement where companies have started to take notice and have been asking, how can we bring this Giving Circle model into the workplace? What does that look like? And we've had some really wonderful opportunities to work with companies to do exactly that. For example, we've worked with a company to launch many different giving circles across the country at their different local sites. And we were able to essentially recruit local champions and give them this opportunity to learn and to develop some of their own leadership skills to learn about this Giving Circle model, be taken through some training around how it works and how to think about, uh, making an impact as a collaborative group. And then they went out and recruited their local team members to join their giving circle.
Emily Rasmussen:
And ultimately they all went through this process of that. I mentioned earlier in that one model where members, uh, nominated nonprofits and then ultimately they came together, they discussed, they presented their organizations, uh, they had really wonderful conversations and connected with their team members in a way that many of them had never done before and found a lot of alignment. And then they voted and decided where to grant funds. In this particular case, even though I'm calling it a giving circle, it was more akin to a granting circle because the company put all the money in. So it's a great way to not have a solicitation of employees to donate, but actually just to have truly a volunteer opportunity and way for them to come together and direct funds from the company out to, to their local communities. So, uh, that's one model. We have seen companies launch giving circles where employees are invited to contribute as well, and maybe the company has a seed gift and then matching gift on top of that.
Emily Rasmussen:
So there are a few different ways of course, to, to go about it. But, um, companies have been really fun to work with because they're quite creative. Uh, we found in how they apply it, whether it's these local giving circles like I just described, or some companies that have affinity groups or internal ERGs, you know, employee resource groups. They're launching, giving circles for each of these different groups so then they can collaborate to decide where to grant money to support the causes that are meaningful to them and their communities. So some different, you know, applications. And one other thing I'll just share is that what has kind of emerged from this work as well is that these team members who are going through the process feedbac to the company, their excitement about different nonprofits and desire to then go and volunteer for them because now they've connected with an organization, right? And they've seen an opportunity to provide mentorship or some other kind of skills-based volunteering. And so, it's really helped to surface and facilitate a lot of that volunteering and deeper engagement activity that a lot of companies really want their employees to participate in.
Brad Caruso:
Without a doubt. And, and it, it covers a couple of the Six Ts you covered before, you know, some, some individuals have the wealth, some don't, some have to work. And it's just identifying who those are. And, uh, you know, certainly this model helps identify that, which, uh, which I absolutely love. 'cause I know earlier in my career I couldn't really necessarily give as much as I would probably give 15, 20 years into being in a firm, but I always wanted to, I, but I said, Hey, I have time, I have more time then now I have no time, but I'm like, here, here's a check. <laugh>. Yeah. So, you know, certainly all walks of life here with, uh, and then timing is, uh, is, is important there. But the other thing I love of what you just said that, uh, I think is such a, you don't hear too many people talk about it, but you know, the company puts the pile of money in and says, okay, you know, you're the board of advisors.
Brad Caruso:
Like, where do you want this money to go? Like that? It's empowering to the employee. And yes, if you wanna donate, you can do that too. But, you know, we as a company value our employees opinion and you know, what communities you want to donate to and how you wanna do it. And we have representatives in each community. Um, I absolutely love that model and I think people should, you know, take he to that and think about that because, um, it it, it empowers people that may not have necessarily the free cash flow, but also connect, connect creates a, uh, stickiness or a connection, I think, uh, to their, to their company.
Emily Rasmussen:
Yeah. We, and we've seen that, um, the, the positive feedback and appreciation that the employees have shared with us for the opportunity to participate in this has been really wonderful to see. And one of the companies we worked with recently said this was the fastest signup for a volunteer opportunity they've ever had. So when you think about companies really trying to increase participation in their volunteer activities, right? And get people excited to participate and engage, we're seeing that, that this can really do that and like I said, can then lead to even deeper engagement and excitement to participate at that next level as well.
Brad Caruso:
Absolutely. Yeah. No, these are all great concepts and I know we're all, we always all are all trying to figure out the next generation of giving and, and uh, you know, my unverified evidence says that, you know, a lot of people nowadays, you know, regardless of generation, look at impact they're making as opposed to, I get a tax deduction anymore. 'cause I think most people don't get a tax deduction. Yes, it's great, I could put it on my tax return, but you know, when they change the standard deduction to be a high number, most, most people just, you know, you can give money and we make a good impact, but people care about where's the money going and what is that charity doing? And you know, as we see with the current happenings with our government, you know, obviously they're being very aggressive towards what is the impact you're making and why, and what is your purpose? And, um, you know, I think, I think what you've said a lot of is, you know, your model is helping to facilitate that. It's helping to get funding in the hands of organizations that, that a collective group in that community are saying, yes, that's the organization I want this money to go to.
Emily Rasmussen:
Exactly. And I, and I think the word there, community is so key because when we look at giving circles, they are often focused on local communities. And through this word of mouth model, they're surfacing these smaller, more local grassroots organizations that are smaller where dollars can often go further toward that impact, right? And where people, uh, in an employee led giving circle in Atlanta, for example, right? They're, as they're learning about nonprofits through the experiences of their colleagues, they're feeling such a greater sense of connection and trust because the social proof of those colleagues and what they're sharing, uh, that they, they have a much greater, uh, sense of the impact that their dollars can have, right? And I think that so much of it is that that sense of impact and even some robust impact report at the end of the year doesn't necessarily give you that feeling and that connection to the impacts that I think a lot of people, what a lot of people really are seeking, um, like this model does. And so, uh, I I think it's really unique in that way, uh, because it's just, it's some of those, that sense of connection and impact is really hard to have unless you have a massive amount of money, right? And you are moving such big resources that you have that level of access and um, that level of reporting. So this facilitates that and brings that accessibility down to the everyday donor.
Brad Caruso:
Yeah. Connection, collaboration, community. A lot of those are what I commonly hear about why people love the nonprofit industry, you know, what makes it go round. And I know, speaking from experience, I volunteer in a fire department and I still give to the firehouse even though I give, you know, 400 hours a year of my time doing whatever it is that we do over there. And I still give to it. Why? Because being around it and seeing what you do and seeing the need and seeing, you know, on a granular level what organizations do, and then being around other people that are like-minded, that feel the same way, that have the same connection to the cause, that is what maximizes donations, maximizes impact, and maximizes your overall donor base. And, you know, we're just a small, small firehouse in a small town, but, um, you know, we're fueled heavily by, by donation and heavily by that. And, and it's because of, you know, very similar to the model you just described on a very, very local level, you're taking it to a national level, you're taking it to a mass scale level. Um, but everything you've said is just spot on with, I know for myself what I, why I give, why I'm so connected to it. It's, you see it, you're in it, you're around people that are in it, you're, it's not about the money, it's about we're making a difference and we're gonna do the best we can.
Emily Rasmussen:
Yeah, I love that. And there's so much research that backs that direct experience up as well, right? As far as people who volunteer are much more likely to give, people who give to an organization are more likely to volunteer. So, um, it definitely, uh, plays out across a, you know, the broader, the broader universe of, of donors and organizations. And the one other thing that I'll just note here is that with all of the value we're talking about here in terms of the impact for the organizations, there's also some really great research around the positive impact on the members, the people participating in this, um, in this program, right, where they are connecting with others, they're feeling a sense of connection and belonging with others. They've learned things about philanthropy and giving. And someone might go and pay a philanthropic advisor for if they're at a certain economic bracket, but you probably aren't necessarily going to afford a philanthropic advisor if you, you know, have less than a million or $5 million to give away according to, um, advisors that I know.
Emily Rasmussen:
So, you know, where do you get exposed to that in a way that's accessible? And so there's just so much value in the connection with others, the sense of belonging, the learning and the research shows that often participating in a giving circle leads people to then have a bigger philanthropic and civic life. They go on to volunteer more, they go on to donate more, to be on boards, even to run for local office, right? It just gets them into the community and connected into these socially minded circles more where they can, they can really take action in in bigger ways
Brad Caruso:
Without a doubt. Great information here. So where I like to always leave off, um, with the audience is, you know, we just talked about a lot, you know, we gave a good, you gave a great overview of giving circles of the model that, that you use of how funding gets from someone's hands into a charity's hands, um, you know, as a call to action to those out there that are listening, just to reiterate and, and probably memorialize a couple of things that you talked about. How can not-for-profits, corporations, individuals, get more involved with grapevine?
Emily Rasmussen:
Well, first grapevine.org, that's our, our website. So please do go there. We do have different sections there for companies, for nonprofits, and just for individuals. If you're looking for a giving circle locally to join, which by the way, if that's the case and you join a group and you work for with them or another company that provides matching donations, you can donate and join your local giving circle and then submit that to the company to have your donation into the circle matched as well, right? So you can still, um, engage your company and get their support for you to participate in the, the grassroots movement more broadly on your own, even if your company does not provide a giving circle experience for you yet. So yes, grapevine.org is a great place to go. We have a wonderful blog as well there with specific resources for nonprofits, for companies, some great key studies on different giving circle models and highlights of different leaders and how you can even start your own giving circle if you're so moved.
Emily Rasmussen:
It's free and easy to set up a group on grapevine. It takes just a couple of minutes and you can create one for your family, your book club, like I mentioned, or you know, think about a larger one, maybe across your neighborhood or, or broader town. So definitely recommend going there. And then I would say across the socials, we're @GrapevineGiving, so you can pretty much find us on all the different social platforms and uh, that's a great place to just stay up to date on our different events and resources and general updates across the movement.
Brad Caruso:
Love it. Yeah. So those out there, you know, get more involved. I'm sure you're gonna love the, the model that's created and, and certainly many of you will connect and, and find that, uh, this is what you were looking for potentially. And uh, I really appreciate Emily, you sharing a lot of information about the company, about how the foundation is, is making an impact in the world. And, and certainly just a lot about just general philanthropy, which, which is always good to revisit as, as many nonprofits right now are, you know, hearing about the shortage of funding. You know, there's over 2 million nonprofits in the United States, all of which are fighting for a, a, a limit or a finite number of dollars. And certainly, you know, anything that organizations can do to, you know, maximize their donation pool, maximize the impact that they create from that donation pool is uh, certainly warranted. So we appreciate your expertise and guidance to, uh, share more. And as Emily said, check out grapevine.org and check out the resources, including the blog and other information. And, uh, thank you so much for dedicating your time and, and being on our show today, Emily. Appreciate it.
Emily Rasmussen:
Thank you for having me. It's been wonderful to be here and thank you for the opportunity to share. Appreciate it.
Brad Caruso:
Love it. And Warriors, thank you for listening. Subscribe and meet us right back here for another episode of Withum Civic Warriors. Hope everyone has a great day. Bye everyone.
