Now that the seed of giving circles has been planted, organizers are hopeful the new way of local fund-raising will take root and grow.

“People are really getting it,” said event organizer Susie Buchanan, of St. Joseph of the Pines. “They understood the concept of what we are trying to do.”

St. Joseph’s hosted 37 nonprofit organizations Tuesday afternoon as part of an ice cream social that introduced the idea of giving circles to local citizens. A giving circle is a way for local groups or clubs to pool their money and make a larger donation to a non-profit organization for a greater impact.

The event and the concept of giving circles both were well-received by those who attended Tuesday’s event, which also included a brief video and talk about the benefits of a giving circle by someone involved in a giving circle in Raleigh.

Organizers were pleased with a “great turnout” and several attendees said the event was “interesting,” even “inspiring.”

“It was fantastic,” said Alice Wilson. “It was a real eye-opener how many wonderful organizations we have in Moore County.”

Wilson said she was “quite inspired to get involved,” adding, “It makes you go home and think about a lot of things.”

Nancy McNiff said she was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of non-profit organizations present.

“There is something for everyone,” McNiff said.

For many non-profits, the opportunity to market themselves to the community was a welcome opportunity.

“This event is fabulous,” said Kathy Wilford, who was working the Carolina Philharmonic table. “Many people don’t know about us yet and we are trying to rectify that.”

Wilford called the event worthwhile and said attendees she spoke with were “generally interested” in the organization.

Candace Williams, who was representing Sandhills Area Land Trust (SALT), agreed.

“This gives us another venue to showcase our work,” she said.

Williams said there was another benefit to the event for nonprofits — networking.

“I’ve gone and collected all these wonderful brochures so we can talk about how we may be able to partner with other organizations.”

Fenton Wilkinson, of Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative, attended the event as a citizen, but said he was actively looking to partner with some non-profit agencies to help the community.

“I’m here because we have something in terms of trying to find partnerships or collaborations that will be beneficial to everyone,” he said.

Goldston resident Larry Davis used the event as a way to job hunt. He is a student in the Human Services program at Sandhills Community College.

“I am looking to see what I can do with my degree when I get out,” Davis said. “It all was interesting. There are a lot of good organizations in Moore County.”

Organizers are looking forward to the growing event in the future through follow-up with attendees to provide them more information about giving circles.

“Follow up is the biggest key to making this a success,” said Mary Anne Howard, of the North Carolina Community Foundation Sandhills Region.

“We are pleased that a lot of people went away from the event excited,” Buchanan said. “Next year I hope when we do it again we can have someone from Moore County highlight our own giving circle.”

To learn more about Moore County Giving Circles, contact Mary Anne Howard, at (910) 256-6924 or by email at mhoward@nccommunityfoundation.org.

Contact Tom Embrey at (910) 693-2484 or tembrey@thepilot.com.