Giving Circles: How Groups Can Pool Resources for In-Kind Donations

Giving circles are one of the fastest-growing trends in American philanthropy. The concept is simple: a group of people pool their resources and give collectively, creating more impact than any individual could alone.

Most giving circles focus on cash. But a growing number are discovering that in-kind giving circles — where members pool resources to donate specific physical goods — create deeper engagement, higher participation, and more visible impact.

Here's how they work, why they're growing, and how to start one.

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What Is a Giving Circle?

A giving circle is a group of individuals (usually 10–50 people) who:

1. Agree to each contribute a set amount (money or time)
2. Pool their contributions
3. Collectively decide where to give
4. Give together

Giving circles have been around for decades — but they've grown significantly in the last five years, driven by younger donors who want community, agency, and visibility in their philanthropy.

According to Philanthropy Together, there are now over 2,000 giving circles in the United States, collectively distributing more than $1.29 billion in grants and gifts.

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Why In-Kind Giving Circles Work Especially Well

Cash giving circles face a classic problem: after pooling money, the group must decide how to distribute it, which often requires governance, voting, and administration that burdens members.

In-kind giving circles sidestep this:

• No money changes hands between members — each person buys their own items
• The "decision" is the wishlist — the nonprofit tells you exactly what they need
• Impact is immediate and visible — you can see 40 boxes of food arriving at a shelter
• Participation is flexible — members contribute at their own comfort level

The result is higher participation rates, less friction, and a more satisfying group experience.

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How to Start an In-Kind Giving Circle

Step 1: Gather Your Group (10–30 people is ideal)

Start with people you already know — colleagues, neighbors, friends, fellow parents. Shared social ties are the foundation of effective giving circles.

Define your group's giving focus: Are you passionate about hunger relief? Youth programs? Animal rescue? Pick one area to start.

Step 2: Choose a Nonprofit Partner

Browse Givelink's verified catalog to find a Bay Area nonprofit whose mission aligns with your group's values. Look for:

• Active, updated wishlist
• Responsive to donor communication
• Track record of impact documentation

Step 3: Set a Giving Cadence

Most in-kind giving circles run quarterly campaigns. Each campaign has:

• A specific nonprofit partner
• A specific item list (5–10 items from the wishlist)
• A goal (e.g., 30 items total)
• A deadline

Step 4: Share and Give

Share the Givelink wishlist link with your circle. Each member selects 1–3 items to purchase. Items ship directly to the nonprofit. Done.

Step 5: Celebrate the Impact

This is what distinguishes great giving circles from average ones. After each campaign:

• Share delivery confirmations and impact photos with the group
• Host a brief virtual or in-person gathering to discuss what you gave
• Invite the nonprofit to share a brief update

This closing ritual deepens the group's connection to their giving — and makes the next campaign even easier to organize.

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Giving Circle Models for Different Groups

Group Type	Recommended Model	Platform
Workplace team	Quarterly campaign, $25/person	Givelink corporate
Neighborhood group	Monthly wishlist item, any amount	Givelink personal
Alumni network	Annual drive, matched by board	Givelink + matching
Parent community	School supply drive by semester	Givelink personal
Faith community	Monthly bulletin announcement	Givelink community page

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Bay Area Giving Circles Using Givelink

Givelink is building infrastructure specifically for group giving — allowing circles to:

• Create a shared giving page with group branding
• Track collective impact across all members
• Share one wishlist link that routes donations to a verified nonprofit
• Receive a single impact report covering all group donations

Whether your circle is 10 coworkers or 200 alumni, the platform scales.

Start your giving circle on Givelink →

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much should each giving circle member contribute? There's no minimum. Most in-kind circles target $20–50 per person per campaign, but members can give more or less based on their means.

Do giving circle donations qualify for tax deductions? Yes, if the recipient is a registered 501(c)(3). Givelink generates individual tax receipts for each member's purchase.

How do we keep our giving circle engaged between campaigns? Share impact updates from the nonprofit between campaigns. A single photo of your donations in use is more powerful than any newsletter.

Can our giving circle support multiple nonprofits? Yes. Many circles rotate nonprofit partners each quarter to explore different causes while maintaining group focus.

markdown--- Slug: problem-with-cash-donations-what-nonprofits-need Tag: Thought Leadership Title: The Problem With Cash Donations (And What Nonprofits Actually Need) Subtitle: A contrarian take on the default assumption of charitable giving — and why the future looks different. Locale: EN EditorPhoto: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1534528741775-53994a69daeb?w=100 EditorName: Panos Kokmotos Date: 2025-03-26 Thumbnail: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1532629345422-7515f3d16bb6?w=1200

The Problem With Cash Donations (And What Nonprofits Actually Need)

Cash is flexible. Cash is measurable. Cash is what every fundraising campaign asks for.

Cash is also slow, expensive to process, frequently misallocated, and deeply unsatisfying for donors.

This is not a contrarian take for its own sake. The data supports a harder look at the default assumption of charitable giving — that money is always the best gift. For frontline nonprofits dealing with immediate, specific needs, it often isn't.

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The Case Against Cash (Sometimes)

1. Cash Has Overhead

Every dollar donated in cash passes through:

• Payment processor (2–3% fee)
• Nonprofit's accounting system
• Budget allocation process
• Procurement department
• Vendor relationship
• Delivery logistics

By the time a cash donation becomes a meal, 20–30 cents of every dollar has been absorbed by infrastructure. This isn't fraud or mismanagement — it's the unavoidable cost of converting money into goods and services.

In-kind donations skip most of this chain entirely.

2. Cash Is Slow

A food bank that needs diapers today cannot use a check received today to have diapers tomorrow. The check clears, gets allocated to the supplies budget, goes through a purchasing process, gets ordered, and ships — a cycle that can take 2–4 weeks for low-priority line items.

A donor who buys diapers on Amazon and ships them to the food bank can have them there in 48 hours.

For acute needs — and most frontline nonprofit needs are acute — speed matters enormously.

3. Cash Doesn't Retain Donors

The average first-year cash donor retention rate is 19%. Four in five new donors who give cash never give again.

The reasons are well-documented: no feedback, no emotional connection, no visible outcome. Writing a check is an act of trust extended into a void. For most donors, the void stays empty.

In-kind donors retain at 61%+, because they can see, touch, and track what they gave.

4. Cash Creates Dependency, Not Partnership

When nonprofits receive unrestricted cash, they become dependent on the unpredictable goodwill of donors. When they build in-kind supply chains — reliable channels for specific goods — they build operational infrastructure that's more resilient and more connected to their community.

The most effective nonprofits we've worked with at Givelink don't just want donations. They want partners who understand their specific needs and can respond to them reliably.

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The Case For Cash (When It Applies)

Cash has real advantages that in-kind can't replace:

Operational expenses: Salaries, rent, utilities, insurance — these require cash. No in-kind gift pays a nonprofit's electricity bill.

Emergency flexibility: In a true crisis, cash lets organizations respond to whatever the situation demands, without waiting for specific items to be purchased and shipped.

Strategic investments: Technology, capacity-building, long-term program development — all require capital that in-kind can't provide.

The honest answer is: nonprofits need both. The problem is that almost all of their fundraising infrastructure is built for one — cash — and in-kind remains an afterthought.

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What Nonprofits Actually Told Us

In conversations with 50+ US nonprofits in 2024–2025, Givelink heard consistent themes:

"We can always find money for big programs. We can never find someone to just bring us socks and toothbrushes."

"Our biggest operational pain is buying hygiene products every week. If donors could just send those directly, we could reallocate $800/month to staffing."

"Cash donors disappear. The people who bring food — they keep coming back."

The operational needs of frontline nonprofits are more specific, more immediate, and more physical than the charitable giving infrastructure is designed to serve.

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The Platform Gap

For decades, the gap persisted because there was no elegant solution. Amazon wishlists were clunky. Donation drives required logistics. Corporate giving programs required procurement teams.

Givelink was built to close this gap — to make physical giving as easy as clicking "donate," with all the documentation, tracking, and impact reporting that cash platforms offer.

The argument isn't that cash is bad. It's that cash is the only option most donors have been given — and they deserve a better one.

Give differently on Givelink →

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Frequently Asked Questions

Are you saying nonprofits don't need cash donations? No. Operational expenses, salaries, and strategic investments require cash. The argument is that in-kind donations are significantly underutilized for frontline needs — and that both types of giving should be available to donors.

Do nonprofits prefer in-kind over cash? It depends on the need. For immediate, specific operational needs (food, hygiene, supplies), in-kind is often faster and more efficient. For long-term strategic programs, cash is necessary.

Isn't it paternalistic to decide what a nonprofit needs instead of giving cash? Only if done unilaterally. When nonprofits build and control their own wishlists — specify