Anne Arundel Women Giving Together, a women's giving circle, was founded in 2005, and supports initiatives that improve the quality of life for women and families in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Anne Arundel Women Giving Together accomplishes its mission through:
- Grantmaking programs that support women and families
- Engaging and educating women donors around issues affecting women and families in the community and about philanthropy, and
- Building the power of collective philanthropy in Anne Arundel County.
Anne Arundel Women Giving Together is a donor-advised fund of the
Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County.
Women’s giving circles, a rapidly growing phenomenon in the U.S., are groups of like-minded individuals who pool their resources to collectively decide where these funds should be distributed. There are more than 500 of these types of groups in the U.S., with 12,000 members and granting $100 million per year.
Recent research shows that members of giving circles:
- Give more and give in more strategic ways than other donors
- Are highly engaged in their communities
- Give to a greater number of organizations, and
- Have even a greater impact in difficult economic times because members pool their donations and are able to make larger grants.