Global Giving Circle

URL = http://www.globalgivingcircle.org/aboutus/globalgivingcircle

Interview

Worldchanging interviews Shana Dressler, excerpt:

"The idea of the Global Giving Circle came to me as a result of my consultant work with the nationwide satellite channel Link TV. The channel shows eye-opening documentaries about the problems facing humanity, and the people who are doing great things to redress them. In the course of my work at Link, I was privy to myriad emails from people who wrote in from everywhere, asking how they might help in some way.

It became clear to me that there are a lot of people who really want to do something to make the world a better place, but they simply don’t know how to go about it. Others don’t make charitable donations because they don’t think the money they have available to give is enough to make a significant impact.

I decided to investigate how to connect this energy to the causes Link’s viewers felt so strongly about. I did a great deal of research on some of the brilliant alternative thinking in the field of humanitarian problem solving. I realized that if I could find grassroots projects that had a beginning, middle and an end — for $10,000 and under then we could get a group of people together, pool funds and then make a group contribution. By the time I was ready to launch this initiative I wasn’t working at Link TV anymore.

In February 2009, the Global Giving Circle (GGC) launched with a chocolate tasting fundraising event on Valentine’s Day in New York City to benefit Project Hope & Fairness. Fifteen chocolatiers and bakeries from New York including Jacques Torres, Marie Belle, Vere, Theo and the renowned bakery Baked participated. The event raised $5,500 for PH&F, mostly from $25 donations. PH&F used the money to support cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast by digging a well in Broguhe and purchasing three scales for neighboring villages: Abekro, Broguhe, and Pezoan.

Worldchanging: Can you say more about how people with very little money can connect in a meaningful way?

Dressler: I worked for Link TV for two years and read viewer comments weekly. People would write us to tell us about a particular documentary film moved them and asked us how they could make a difference even though they didn't have a lot of money. I left Link TV to pursue how to find projects where $25 donations could make a significant impact. After a lot of research I started to put together grassroots initiatives around $5,000 so that almost everyone could get in on the game of giving." (http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010910.html)