107. Collective Giving and the Power of Giving Circles - Kyson Bunthuwong

PhilanthropyFundraisingDiversity and InclusionStrategy

Apr 19

Written By Julie Confer

Kyson Bunthuwong, Philanthropy Together, We Are For Good Podcast

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Overview

Meet Kyson. This gritty optimist got his start in social good when he co-founded a startup aimed at tackling Malawi's illegal charcoal trade.Today, he and the Philanthropy Together team are working to empower us all with the knowledge of giving circles to build powerful communities for good. There are many in our sector who aren’t familiar with Giving Circles 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️ Tune in as we dive into this powerful community-building strategy. Kyson also throws down some wise counsel on democratizing and diversifying philanthropy through giving circles and collective giving. If you have passionate ambassadors, volunteers or rabid fans - this episode is for you.

Today’s Guest

Kyson Bunthuwong, Development and Partnerships Director, ‎Philanthropy Together

“If you want to look at philanthropy and the root word, it’s love of humanity. If we can go back to loving people and centering people, that’s the direction that we should be heading in.”

— Kyson Bunthuwong, Development and Partnerships Director, Philanthropy Together

Episode Transcript

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Episode Highlights

Kyson’s career journey - 3:39
Giving Circles - 5:14
The Mission of Philanthropy Together - 8:55
Kyson’s favorite giving circles - 10:34
Where to start looking for support? - 14:34
Kyson’s experience in Malawi - 17:21
How listeners can be allies - 20:28
Kyson’s One Philanthropic Moment - 25:53
Kyson’s One Good Thing - 27:59

Powerful Quotes:

“He is an explorer of connections of he's a design thinker, and a gritty optimist in the face of challenges.” - Becky

“For me, fundraising has been the heart of that but really just witness to great leaders and really inspiring like programs teams have been my fuel since getting started.” - Kyson

“Giving circles and collective giving at large is not necessarily new or not even American in itself. It's definitely rooted in many cultures across the globe.” - Kyson

“The definition that we love is a giving circle takes your mind talents and financial abilities seriously, it makes giving a collaborative and social experience. They create caring, generous communities of people who act intentionally, thoughtfully, and strategically together.” - Kyson

“Our mission is to democratize and diversify philanthropy through the power of giving circles.”- Kyson

“So based on the 2017 research, was the most recent one we've seen, there's 1600, giving circles across the US referees, yeah, and representing about 150,000 individuals. And collectively, they've given over $1.3 billion over the past two decades. Those are some really great numbers.” - Kyson

“I think, once again, that's the power of the model is this community, when you pull your donations together, you're leveraging community in a way that you can't do as a single individual donor.” - Kyson

“We believe that philanthropy has the power to change, not just the receiver of the gift, but the person that's in the action of that.” - Jon

“So one of the cool things that we're revealing soon is a global directory of giving circles. So there will be now listed for the first time ever, ways in which you know, nonprofits could potentially seek out getting circle support.” - Kyson

“Barriers break down, there's more talk, there's more collaboration, there's ultimately more money getting fueled to these great organizations, and hopefully, we're pushing direction that's funding grassroots organizations.” - Kyson

“I would say that, as a young person coming out of undergrad, too, you have to temper your expectations of what you can do and what is pragmatic with the communities that you want to serve.” - Kyson

“I already know statistically, it's harder for me to gain funding than a white, straight male fundraiser, like, statistically, it's proven that they raise more money than someone who looks like me. So, and there have been studies that have done been done on this. And it's frustrating, to be honest, but I know what I'm up against. I'm an optimist. And that's why I'm talking to you guys. It's such a great time. And this is where I'm hopeful is that there's a self-reflection that's happening right now. That's, that's really powerful.” - Kyson

“While you're finding hope, I know, it is a calling on us to have opportunities to speak into leaders and to our fellow professionals to say, we've got to go beyond drawing a line in the sand and lift this up because it’s not okay.” - Jon

“If you want to look at philanthropy and the root word, it’s love of humanity. If we can go back to loving people and centering people, I think that's kind of a direction that we should be heading in.” - Kyson

“What also drew me to keep a special place in my brain and in my heart for that was the community that came together around him in his final year, final hours, all of this there was money that was poured into papers, medication, and paying for kind of support just for daily needs. And you know, this community not only give money and donate also to some cancer printing organizations but also got together and like we took turns, doing like caretaking, we spent a lot of time just being present and being generous with ourselves and showing up in a way that anyone would want, you know, in their final time on this earth.” - Kyson’s One Philanthropic Moment

“I think all those definitely strong, great feelings that come with optimism and hope for the future, I think, is it's just super powerful and something that we would definitely be practicing as much as possible.” - Kyson’s One Good Thing