Beyond Food and Fun: The Fondue Fund (Triad Area)

Since its inception in 2004, the Fondue Fund has sought to break the mold of contemporary philanthropy, drawing membership from women who are of a younger set than those who tend to be seen as philanthropists. They view themselves as representing the diversity of young women in the Triad - African-American, Caucasian, Native American, Latina, single, married, businesswomen, public servants and everything in between.

In February 2007, the Fondue Fund (whose name is derived from the communal dish shared at several of their gatherings) made their first two grants: one to Forsyth Technical Community College for scholarships for women who wish to pursue non-traditional trade careers (such as auto repair, plumbing and electrical maintenance); and one to the Women's Resource Center of Greensboro.

While these two grants focused specifically on women's issues, the Fund plans for future grants to also reach the broad spectrum of social justice and social change, especially for disenfranchised populations such as people of color and the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community.

In another departure from the "giving circle norm," the Fondue women place more emphasis on the time and talent given by members than financial resources, and have no monetary giving minimum as a membership requirement. "We didn't want it to feel like it would be restrictive to only the people who could afford to join," says former chair Natasha Gore, adding that they view their female grant recipients as potential members. "They may not be able to contribute money, but we want them to know their voice can be heard."

To that end, the Fondue women strongly value volunteering as an important form of giving, organizing group volunteer opportunities with organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and a local women's homeless shelter.

Currently about 20 members strong, the Fondue Fund is looking into holding another recruitment event in the near future.

Starting a Buzz: The Beehive Collective (Raleigh)

If you happened to walk into Raleigh's Helios Coffee on a Wednesday evening several years ago, you might have come across a group of young working women, enjoying each other's company and showing off their knitting skills. Come holiday season, you may have seen their wares displayed around the coffee shop for a holiday auction, raising money for various community initiatives.

Fast forward to fall 2005, and then again to early 2007, and you'll see these talented women turning their creative instincts toward benefit productions of the international phenomenon The Vagina Monologues, raising several thousand dollars for the Women's Center of Wake County and Planned Parenthood's youth education programs.

In March 2007, several Monologues women came together to brainstorm about a bigger picture. They knew that counted among the cast and crew were many women of all kinds of skills and talents, and that it only made sense for them to be organized and pooled together for the benefit of the local community.

And so the Beehive Collective giving circle began to form. Many of the women come from a tradition of volunteering and social activism, and are now deciding to step up their commitment in the form of a contribution of half a percent of their annual income. "We want to be able to make significant grants," says Heather Yandow, one of the Beehive founding members as well as one of the nine "Queen Bees," the board members of the circle.

By 2012, the Collective hopes to be giving away $60,000 annually - but raising money isn't their only goal. They want to get local young women involved in local issues, providing a way for them to "engage more deeply as stewards of our community" and to develop leadership skills.

The Beehive Collective is in the process of creating a fund at the Triangle Community Foundation, and is aiming to have 50 committed members by January 2009. In November 2007, the Queen Bees will be holding a general interest meeting for their Monologues colleagues and others who want to impact Raleigh for good by sharing their time, talent and treasure.