A local Chemainus group is the latest to join a growing trend.
Giving circles are small groups of people who pool their resources to support others. The local group began when Laurie Douglas and a few friends surprised a restaurant worker with a large cash gift after breakfast. The experience inspired Douglas to launch the Chemainus Kindness Club, where members pool donations to provide surprise cash gifts and items to people in the community who could use a boost.
For Douglas, the plan is simple: “We give cash to deserving purposes or people.”
But this group does things just a little differently.
“We are like Crofton Cares but with a bit of a twist,” Douglas said, explaining that most giving circles invite charitable causes to present to them at a meeting, while the Chemainus Kindness Club is designed to be a surprise to the recipient.
Members contribute $50 twice a year and donate items twice a year. These gifts are delivered directly to recipients who might not otherwise ask for help.
“Most of the members just like to give money knowing it will go to someone who needs it,” Douglas said, adding, “New members are always welcome.”
Those interested in joining can email [email protected] or find her on Facebook for more information on how to be part of spreading kindness locally.
The club is part of a rising trend.
Data from 11 Trends in Philanthropy, a report from the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, shows the rapid growth of giving circles in the U.S. Nearly 4,000 groups mobilized about 370,000 people to donate $3.1 billion between 2017 and 2023. That’s a 140 per cent increase in both participation and giving, with the number expected to double again in the following five years.
This movement aligns with another global trend in generosity that began during COVID-19. According to the World Happiness Report 2025, produced annually by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network under the United Nations, “Benevolent acts are still about 10 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels worldwide, and helping strangers is 18 per cent above 2019 levels.”
In Canada, while such community-driven initiatives flourish, traditional giving faces pressure. Demand for charities is growing, and many are overwhelmed with rising need amid constrained resources. But according to the CanadaHelps' Giving Report 2024, the number of Canadians donating to charities continues a decade-long decline, dropping from 23.4 per cent in 2010 to just 17.7 per cent in 2021. The report cited shrinking social networks and weakened community bonds, which “make it harder for individuals to see how they can effect change”.
This may help explain why smaller, peer-led groups like the Chemainus Kindness Club resonate: they’re intimate, nimble and grounded in familiarity. They complement, rather than replace, the vital work of established charities, reaching individuals who might fall through the cracks of larger systems.
Whatever the reasons driving their rise, giving circles such as the Chemainus Kindness Club are multiplying and demonstrating how this small Vancouver Island community is part of a wider movement rooted in kindness.
