When the Circle Expands
There’s an old African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to go together.
In a world that celebrates individual choice and personal branding, it is almost counter-cultural to think about philanthropy in a group format, aka a giving circle. This type of team-sport philanthropy asks us to slow down, to listen, to open ourselves to the perspectives of others. A giving circle is collaborative and powerful, but it is not always comfortable. You might find yourself funding a project you wouldn’t have chosen on your own — or seeing an issue through someone else’s eyes for the first time.
And yet, that’s where the growth happens.
A giving circle is as much about learning as it is about giving. It’s an experiment in trust — trusting that others will stretch your thinking, that compromise can deepen conviction, and that collective decisions can still feel personal and meaningful.
The power of a circle is not just in the funds it distributes, but in the transformation it offers its members. You come in thinking about causes; you leave thinking about community. You start with priorities; you end with perspective.
This season, that idea feels especially close to home. It’s been forty years since my bat mitzvah — and forty years since my grandmother’s passing. I’ve been thinking about how the circles of our lives overlap: generations, values, and the quiet lessons passed down in stories and in love. In many ways, a giving circle is an echo of that — a space where what we’ve inherited meets what we’re creating, and where gratitude turns into action.
When we choose to give together, we expand more than our impact. We expand our empathy, our patience, our imagination — and ultimately, our sense of what’s possible.
And as I launch a new Jewish Women’s Giving Circle here in Detroit, I’m reminded how powerful it is when people come together with shared purpose and curiosity. Whether it’s a group of friends, couples, a professional network, residents of a retirement community, or young adults exploring their collective impact — giving circles can take many shapes.
If you’re interested in joining this Detroit circle, or in forming one of your own, I’d love to connect. You can fill out the information form here. Together, we can keep expanding the circle.
Because going together doesn’t mean going slower. It means going farther.
With my best wishes for a joyful, delicious Thanksgiving holiday,
Kari
