"I learned it from my grandmother," she says, adding that quilters often used their artwork to help those in need.  She is a founder of Heritage Quilters, which draws its 20-25 members from Warren, Vance and Halifax counties.

Now, she and her fellow quilters are considering how they can extend their "community engagement" through a "giving circle."  She and Cathy Alston-Kearney, both of Warrenton, recently attended the 3rd annual Community Investment Network Conference here to learn about this grassroots philanthropic movement.

The conference itself grew out of the experience of Darryl K. Lester, president of a Raleigh non-profit, Hindsight, Inc.  NC Gives, a Raleigh based initiative, helped fund the gathering.

"These are people who are ordinary citizens who want to give back to their communities," explains Lester.  A veteran of non-profits, he has helped form a number of giving circles and he brings them together with veterans in the non-profit and foundation world at meetings such as CINC.

"I knew I wanted to talk to everyday people about these [philanthropy] tools.  I concluded that the way to get people more engaged was in giving circles," he says.
The Heritage Quilters, for example, started in 2001 after King recruited friends and acquaintances to join her.  The group meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m.  "They were all individuals, women and men, who had an interest in quilting," says King.

She talks of the different quilting patterns such as the "nine-patch" and "log cabin."  She says, "My father sold suits and would give my grandmother his old wool swatches for beautiful wool quilts."

Alston-Kearney also grew up watching her grandmother quilt.  "She spent summer cutting patches and in the winter, she quilted," she recalls.  She joined the Heritage circle for the fellowship and to continue her family's quilting tradition.

Their group has collected a small fund from its quilt sales, and King says Lester explained how a giving circle could expand their community work as part of a larger community foundation.  "We're formulating ideas and we're open to all possibilities," says Alston-Kearney when asked about potential beneficiaries.  "The conference is the next step for us."  Explains King, "I came here to learn more about fundraising."

King herself would like to provide scholarships to help deserving students complete college.  She likes the idea of giving circles and "seeing ourselves as community philanthropists."  Lester and NC Gives like that picture, too.