On June 2016, Jeselle Santiago, NEXTGEN Fellow 2015, represented the Bayanihan Foundation at the Asian Americans & Pacific Islander in Philanthropy (AAPIP) Conference in New York City. She debuted the Bayanihan Foundation’s newest initiative, Community Power Giving Circle, a giving circle created by young Filipino Americans like Jeselle dedicated to give back to young Filipinos and Filipino Americans locally and globally.
What is a giving circle? A giving circle is a group of individuals who come together, pool charitable donations from its members and make collective decisions where to grant their money. The COMMUNITY POWER Giving Circle is one of the few active Filipino American giving circles in the US. The giving circle plans to be center among young Filipino Americans helping and giving to other young Filipino and Filipino Americans in the US and abroad.
The Community Power Giving Circle started out as an idea from Bayanihan Foundation’s board member James Castillo and Jeselle Santiago. Through a series of online discussions, they came up with a giving circle to influence others to give back to their communities, locally and globally. The giving circle will be beyond a social network but a real working group of young Filipino Americans helping others.
Both James Castillo and Jeselle Santiago set personal examples of giving and helping others. This giving circle initiative will hopefully encourage other young people to do the same. Since 2011, James Castillo has been donating his own personal funds to help youth in Cebu to plant mangrove trees and learn about environmental sustainability.
In 2015, Jeselle Santiago collected books to donate to the Iligan Central National High School. And in 2016, she spearheaded a local garage sale in Chicago to support the women vendors in Cebu’s Carbon Market.
Would you consider donating to support the Bayanihan Foundation’s Community Power Giving Circle? The Bayanihan Foundation plans to raise $10,000 for the Community Power Giving Circle. The Asian American & Pacific Islander in Philanthropy (AAPIP) will match that investment dollar-for-dollar to the Giving Circle. The result? $20,000 to be invested in our local community on top of what the Giving Circle already raises and gives, along with the opportunity to get to know community members and organizations serving the needs of Filipino Americans in the US and around the world. This will maximize and double your donation for diaspora giving locally and globally! You can also donate securely online at www.fdnbayanihan.org
