#73 - Host a giving circle. (18/101)

Growing up I would get a weekly allowance for completing chores (as most kids do). But unlike most kids, starting when I was about five years old, my parents asked me to put half of my allowance each week into a tzedakah (Hebrew word for "charity") box. At the end of each year, I would count up the money and choose where to make a donation. From a young age my parents (and especially my mom) instilled in me the importance of philanthropy and the importance of giving to others no matter how much or how little one has. As I've grown up I have continued to donate to different organizations each year, both my time and money.

When I was a third year student at UVa, I took a class meant to instill philanthropy in college students where our class granted $100,000 to local Charlottesville organizations (you can read a bit more about that in a past post). This was my first experience with collective giving and I loved it. I loved that we went through a process together to discuss what values were important to us, what collective values we wanted to demonstrate through our giving and most of all, I loved that we were having fun while doing good. Last year, I took part in a second collective giving experience, a Challah for Hunger alumni giving circle. The difference with this circle was that we gave our own contributions along with unallocated funds from the organization and distributed $20,000 to two hunger relief organizations.

At the beginning of the summer, I was approached by the CEO of Challah for Hunger and asked if I would consider co-hosting the second alumni giving circle. I didn't even have to think, I immediately said yes and started working with my co-leader on the circle. Our giving circle concluded this past week and it was an incredible experience. Six Challah for Hunger alumni from around the country took part in the circle which included four digital meetings, education about hunger relief and philanthropy, fruitful conversations about our personal and collective values and more. We ended up granting $10,000 (a mixture of personal donations and unallocated funds from the organization) to two amazing hunger relief organizations. This was an incredible experience and I am really grateful to the six members of the giving circle and Challah for Hunger.

I hope to host more giving circles in the future!