NCGives - Human service workers turn to ‘giving circle' philanthropy

RALEIGH—At the outset of summer, nine men and women human services employees and volunteers gathered to talk about their work and how they could do something more to help. It was a wide-ranging conversation.

"It went from lipstick to way out," laughs Jacqueline Kehinde who works with children in foster care. Kehinde, of Holly Springs, attended that June meeting at the Family Resource Center on South Bloodworth St.
The multi-racial group had come together at the behest of Darryl K. Lester, president of HindSight, Inc. It's the non-profit that recently organized the Community Investment Network Conference at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel here.

Lester is a missionary for "giving circles," which have become a growing movement in philanthropy, notably in North Carolina. They are not the Bill Gates and Warren Buffetts but the folks at the grassroots end of giving.
"These are people who are ordinary citizens who want to give back to their communities," explains Lester.
The CIN conference, funded in part by the Raleigh-based initiative NC Gives, brought together non-profit and foundation veterans with fledgling philanthropists such as Kehinde and her colleagues Kim Best and Lorraine McCurdy.

"We want to do more, outside of our daily work," says Kehinde. "Something where we can make a difference," added McCurdy, clearly excited by the prospect.
Lester believes that these small "givers" can increase their talents and treasures by using the "tools" of philanthropy.

After listening to Lester in June, the circle gathered at a local church for their next meetings. "We just said if anybody is interested, show up," says Best. "We all clearly see the need." They had more meetings, and as diplomats say, there were frank and honest discussions.

Best, executive director at the Family Resource Center, said the next step had been attending the CINC where they filled a table at breakfast, reviewing their progress.

They are still negotiating their organizational structure and personal donations to start a fund, but they have decided on a name: Way Out, of course. Their general mission is to help lessen poverty's impact on children, and they expect to do that by supporting existing service providers. Kehinde also wants to increase Way Out's membership.

Best believes that if Way Out becomes a giving circle, it will be able to attract matching funds from other organizations and foundations. "We can give back in a different way, and that's attractive to me," she says.