5 ways to use a Giving Group

Our last post was about our new feature, Giving Groups, which we’re pretty pumped about. Giving as a group – with friends, family, coworkers, etc. – is where things can start to get fun. If you’re wondering how, here are a few different ways you could put it into practice.

1. Clubs
A book club can extend its theme beyond bringing food that’s tied to story’s setting. Instead of cooking more than they can eat, everyone adds $10 to a Giving Group each time they meet, then choose a charity doing good in the region where the story is set.

2. Fundraising
A co-worker has been diagnosed with breast cancer. In supporting her fight, the company starts a Giving Group that raises money in her name. Proceeds from fundraising events, personal donations from colleagues, and management matching incentives all added to the fund, which can then be given to breast cancer research.

3. Healthy competition
A hockey team wants to spice up their beer league games and do good at the same time. For every goal a guy scores, everyone else on the team puts $5 into their group fund. A comment is posted every time to track who earns what. So at the end of the year, the team can see who raised the most – and scored the most goals.

4. Family gift exchange
A family decides that Christmas really is going to be about giving this year – but to people who truly need it. Little ones still get gifts, but money that would’ve normally been spent on other adults goes into the new Giving Group. As a family, they can choose which charity (or charities) to send the money on to while everyone’s digesting Christmas dinner.

5. Events
A couple is getting married. They’ve lived together for several years and have everything they need. In lieu of gifts, they request their guests drop money into the Giving Group they’ve set up and cast a vote for the charity they’d like it to go to (the couple have short-listed five of them).

The hardest part about setting up a Giving Group is coming up with the reason for it, but hopefully these ideas have triggered some of your own. Once you have an idea for a Giving Group, sign in and head here to get group giving!

Have other ideas on how people could pool their money or raise funds together? Share’em if you got’em.