For members

Member Manual

What is GiVE 365?

The idea is simple. You give $365—a dollar a day to make our community better. You pool those daily dollars with others. Then, once a year, you decide together which organizations you want to receive grants. The GiVE 365 membership chooses an annual theme to guide its grantmaking for that year. Typically, grants range from $2,000 to $10,000.

Our mission

GiVE 365 unites and informs emerging philanthropists to make a collective impact on the Greater Memphis area.

Our values

GiVE 365 advances the well-being of the Greater Memphis area by:

• Equipping members with experiences and knowledge for making meaningful contributions to the community;
• Exposing members to a diverse range of social issues and to the community- based efforts being made to address them;
• Supporting a wide range of nonprofit and community based projects in the Greater Memphis area;
• Leveraging financial, social, and human capital for collective philanthropic impact; and
• Building and growing a fellowship of informed and engaged donors.

Community Foundation of Greater Memphis

GiVE 365 is an initiative of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis. Founded in 1969, the Community Foundation brings a half-century of experience and expertise, working with donors, professional advisors, and nonprofits to help strengthen our community through philanthropy. Together, we have built a trusted resource that helps transform the way you give.

Formed in 2010, GiVE 365 was created by a group of community leaders and the Community Foundation to encourage philanthropy in a new group of donors.

How are your dollars spent?

Half of your GiVE 365 donation supports grantmaking in the upcoming year and the other half goes in an endowment. Because GiVE 365’s programming and administration are fully supported by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, you can be assured that the entirety of your donation will go towards grantmaking to nonprofits, now and in the future.

An endowment is a way of investing that ensures a permanent source of funds for GiVE 365. The principal of the endowment fund is never spent, and it can grow over time to generate an increasing stream of funding devoted to fulfilling the mission of GiVE 365. Your gift—and all future income from your gift—is a permanent source of community funding that makes good works possible, forever.

Gifts are treated as follows:

• Annual membership gifts, matches, and general donations from $365 to $3,649 may be paid as one-time gifts or installments. These are allocated 50/50 between the GiVE 365 annual grant fund and the GiVE 365 endowment fund.
• Some GiVErs have chosen to become Lifetime Members, contributing $3,650 or more. Lifetime Membership gifts are allocated at 5% to the GiVE 365 annual grant fund in the year received, and 95% to the GiVE 365 endowment fund. Exceptions to this treatment may be made for gifts with restrictions, such as foundation grants.

What can you expect out of your membership?

Collective impact

You are pooling your dollars with others to give more to nonprofits than many people could do alone. GiVE 365 grants allow those nonprofits to execute meaningful programs and projects in the Greater Memphis community.

Education

You will learn about community issues and the nonprofits in Greater Memphis working to address them—whether through online communications and voting or in person at events. You will have the opportunity to learn how to be a strategic philanthropist and to see work of local nonprofits first-hand.

Engagement

You will receive a monthly Community Foundation eNews with information about upcoming events and grantee successes. You will also receive mailed invitations to special GiVE 365 and Community Foundation events. Make sure to follow the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis on Facebook and Instagram for updates on the program.

Flexibility

You can be as active as you would like in the grantmaking process. Some members let their voting do the talking. Others attend events or join a grant review team. GiVE 365 membership is inclusive and flexible—so you can engage in a way that fits your schedule and interests.

Fellowship

You are joining a diverse group of members, in their 20s to their 70s, from 34 different ZIP codes. Membership is a fun and social way to meet and interact with like-minded people who want to see our community thrive.

A year in GiVE 365 looks something like this

Involvement

Member voting and grant teams

Members have the opportunity to vote on the annual grant theme and, ultimately, the grant recipients. If you really want to dig into the grantmaking process, you can join a grant review team.

Any member can submit a theme idea for GiVE 365 grants. These ideas are reviewed by the Advisory Team, who narrows the list to a slate of themes. Members vote online to select the annual theme. Shortly after the theme is announced, an application is posted for nonprofits interested in submitting a proposal.

Grant review sign-up runs December to January. Review team members attend an orientation in February, where they meet their teams and receive a brief training on reviewing proposals, both how to access them online and what to look for when judging their merit. Teams are composed of approximately six members. Teams receive about eight proposals to review; each requires an hour, on average, to read and analyze. At a second meeting in March, review teams put forward their finalists.

The finalists, usually between 12 and 15 nonprofits, pitch their projects in quick succession at a Finals event in April. After the event, members vote online, generally ranking their top five choices. Once voting ends, the data is analyzed and presented to the review team captains for approval. The grants are announced at the Annual Meeting in May, and you will get to see a year’s worth of impact and progress.

Be on the lookout in the eNews for voting and grant review sign-up links.

Leadership

Are you interested in a GiVE 365 leadership position? The Advisory Team (or A-Team) has two roles:

• ROLE ONE – To provide direction and guidance to Community Foundation staff for ongoing programmatic needs and the growth of GiVE 365.
• ROLE TWO – To advocate to the Foundation Staff on behalf of the individuals who hold GiVE 365 memberships.

We are looking for members who are passionate and excited about being involved and helping GiVE 365 be as great as possible. The A-Team is elected once a year, with a Chair, who serves two years, nominated by Community Foundation staff. The A-Team includes eight to 15 members, including the Chair, either self-nominated or nominated by fellow GiVE 365 members. A-Team members may serve a maximum of three years. Once a member has been off the A-Team for two years, he or she may be nominated to serve on the A-Team for another three-year term.

2026 A-Team