Black women are boss. Black women are a political force in elections. Black women are likely to graduate from high school, attend and graduate from college. More education often means more money, making Black women an economic force even as single heads of households. Black women are the leaders of Black social change. We are boss.

Fewer Americans are giving charitably today than a decade ago, but one bright spot in the philanthropic landscape is the collective giving movement. The “giving circle” model is simple but powerful: groups ranging in size from fewer than 10 to more than 1,000 members pool their charitable dollars to make grants to nonprofits together. The impact of the model is profound, both on the nonprofit organizations that receive increasingly scarce funding but also in the lives of the groups’ individual members.