CityView Magazine

Meghan Wieten-Scott ving Circle oordinator Giving Circle coordinator E ver wished for a bigger bang for your charitable buck? At “giving circles” across the country, wom- en are pooling their mon- ey and giving it to needy causes of their choice. One woman, one vote – usually over a good glass of wine. It’s the kind of personal philanthropy that’s catching hold in cities big and small and recently arrived in Fayette- ville. By the time the group went live in November, it already had more than 50 members who had agreed to give $550 a year for three years. The woman behind the women is Meghan Wieten-Scott. She’s a Michigan native, a newlywed and a military wife. The Scotts had barely been settled at Fort Bragg last summer when the Army sent him on a 15-month deployment to Iraq. In Janu- ary, she started a new job at the Cum- berland Community Foundation, which landed the grant that launched the giv- ing circle. For anyone else, this might be called a trial by fire. But Wieten-Scott has jumped into the role of rallying her new community. “This is something I’m passionate about,” she said, “and I’m able to turn it into a job.” It will be Wieten-Scott’s job to shep- herd the giving circle through the pro- cess of recruiting new memberswho will eventually decide where they want their money to go. The circle has decided on one broad mission: to improve the lives of women and children in Cumberland County. Now, it’s up to the members to decide what that means. Wieten-Scott says they can be involved as much – or as little – as they want. Chicks with checks or members on a mission, either way, meetings combine fun with the fundraising. Wieten-Scott describes it as investment club meets book club. But the results are more tangible than any discussion group. “One of the goals is to be more intentional about giving,” Wieten-Scott said. “We want to be able to be that change.” CV 38|Winter 2008/2009

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