On October 24, Nazir Ahmad was invited back to speak at and moderate Giving Circles Network's (GCN) second annual conference. GCN is a non-profit organization that "seeks to assist Giving Circles and other individual donors in making their contributions more meaningful." According to GCN, this day-long event brought together a "national gathering of Giving Circles, with representation from the West Coast (State of Washington), Midwest (Michigan), Southwest (Texas), Northeast/Mid Atlantic region (New York, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC), and Southeast (Florida and South Carolina).

According GCN, "Nazir Ahmad, President of GivingWorks, Inc. framed the discussion in global terms, noting that we are in one of the deepest recessions (and only in the beginning of that) as a redefinition of the global order and of our own government is occurring. There is a confluence of social and economic challenges, with significantly less resources available, resulting in weaknesses in our social infrastructure. We are faced with finding solutions inside a new phenomenon called the "global grassroots", which is small and intimate but which is not as dependent on one given locale as in the past with our interdependent communities and countries. Thus, there is a profound shift in the way we must respond locally within Giving Circles, given the rise of global technologies, the diasporas, human rights, and environmental and economic factors, including food shortages. This reality -- of needing to keep the global factors in mind when working locally -- is at the same time both liberating and more challenging for Giving Circles.

One of the roles that Giving Circles can do is build communities as well as move away from the concept of "charity" to one of "partnership" in our grantor/grantee relationships. We are moving away from individual donors to "co-investors towards a common vision", both as a group of givers and in partnership with the grantees we support, who are catalysts for innovation in our communities. We need to do more with less as well as find more effective solutions in accountability, impact and social change. Accountability needs to be less about the "contract and obligation" and more about "vision, responsiveness and trust." It is as much about sweat as money, drawing the relationship between intention and results in social change, promoting risk taking and learning, and achieving impact. Giving Circles need to look beyond "palliative care" to rebuilding our social fabric through systemic change. As a social movement of change, Giving Circles need to pool not only their resources and decisions inside each circle but also pool themselves as organizations, access "idea banks" for Giving Circles (such as is available through the GCN website), and leverage knowledge and resources for the greater good across the U.S. and the world."

For more information on GCN's conference,
click here...