Collective Giving: A Model for Community Centered Philanthropy
APIs RISE Fund’s Vince Sales & Yumi Sera leads a workshop to explore collective giving through the experience of the APIs RISE Fund and drawing on cutting-edge national research. This workshop challenges participants to rethink philanthropy, how decisions get made, and what it means to give with community.
On this page, you will find resources and key takeaways from the hour-long session.
Begin with the WHY
What if philanthropy wasn’t transactional?
What if giving could be joyful, collective, and rooted in community?
What is Collective Giving?
Collective giving is any practice where people pool resources and decide together where to give. Many forms of cooperative giving have existed in many cultures and communities around the world.In the US there are over 4,000 collective giving groups, which is projected to double in next 5 years.
Fastest growing form of philanthropy with an increased connection and empowerment and increasingly prioritize equity and inclusivity to address racial and ethnic equity as fundamental to their approach.
A Giving Circle is one model where a group of people with shared values pool their money, time, and voice — then decide together where it goes, creating a sense of group identity.
Giving circles and mutual aid build community and belonging — an antidote to disconnection — in contrast to the more transactional model of ‘big philanthropy.’
APIs RISE Fund, A Giving Circle advancing equity
The APIs RISE Fund donors pool their donations to give grants to projects serving the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities in the Sacramento region. Conducted in partnership with the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, which provides our grantmaking infrastructure, our process is deeply collaborative. We fundraise throughout the year and carry out our grantmaking process from November to April.
In the Fall of 2026, donors will strategize and decide on a funding theme based on community needs and aspirations.
Once we receive proposals, donors review and score them together.
Ultimately, we build true community by meeting throughout the year to listen to our grantees, put our heads together to seek understanding, and connect deeply over a great meal.