Circle of Sisterhood Foundation, Inc.

What Circle of Sisterhood Foundation, Inc. does

Circle of Sisterhood Foundation, Inc. is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2010 by Ginny Carroll and headquartered in Belmont, NC. The organization channels the collective philanthropic capacity of sorority women in North America into financial support for entities that remove barriers to education for girls and women facing poverty and oppression. Operating with a two-person staff, a volunteer Board of Trustees, and a 50+ person volunteer pool, it runs two core programs: a Grant Awards Program funding vetted 501(c)(3) organizations (typical awards $5,000–$10,000) and a School Build Program implemented in partnership with buildOn, through which 50 schools have been constructed in seven countries.

Name

Circle of Sisterhood Foundation, Inc.

Legal name

Circle of Sisterhood Foundation

Website

https://circleofsisterhood.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Circle of Sisterhood is a U.S. non-profit that mobilizes sorority women across North America to fund organizations removing barriers to girls' education globally, via grants and school builds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Nonprofit Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE), Foundation/NGO & Philanthropic Scholarships (EDAIAOAH)

Keywords

• Girls education nonprofit
• Sorority philanthropy foundation
• Education grantmaking program
• School build charity
• Women empowerment fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Belmont, NC

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Cash gifts from individuals through website donations, personal checks, or disbursements from charitable giving accounts, donor advised funds, or investment accounts. Donors can give one-time or set up recurring gifts.
2. Sustainer Circle (Recurring Gifts): Recurring donations charged monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually to credit cards or via ACH from bank accounts. Provides predictable revenue stream for organization.
3. Corporate Matching Gifts: Employer matching gift programs where corporations match employee contributions to Circle of Sisterhood. Companies include Bank of America, Capital Group, Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, GE Foundation, and others.
4. Planned Giving / Legacy Circle: Bequests, retirement account beneficiaries, life insurance policy beneficiaries. Ensures perpetuity of support through estate planning.
5. Securities Donations: Gifts of stocks, bonds, or appreciated securities. Donors receive charitable income tax deduction for full fair-market value and avoid capital gains tax on appreciation.
6. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate donors including Phired Up/TechniPhi, MJ Insurance Sorority Division, Alpha Omicron Pi (Empowerment Sponsor), and others provide financial support.
7. Campus/Alumnae Community Fundraising: Campus sorority communities and alumnae organizations raise funds through various initiatives, with proceeds directed to Circle of Sisterhood grants and school builds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Circle of Sisterhood Foundation mobilizes individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and matching gifts from the sorority community to fund a Grant Awards Program that disburses approximately $5,000–$10,000 grants to vetted 501c3 organizations removing barriers to education for girls and women globally. It also channels funds into a School Build Program, implemented in partnership with buildOn, that constructs schools in seven developing countries and allows donors to participate in trek teams to build alongside community members.

Product overview

Circle of Sisterhood Foundation is a non-profit organization operating as a single unified programmatic entity rather than a platform with multiple modules. The organization offers several interconnected programs: the Grant Awards Program that funds 501c3 organizations removing educational barriers for girls and women globally; the School Build Program that partners with buildOn to construct schools in developing countries; the Campus Ambassador Program providing resources for collegiate engagement; peer-to-peer and recurring giving programs (My Circle for the Circle, Sustainer Circle, Legacy Circle); the Brothers for Sisters Program engaging fraternity men; and the annual Day of Giving campaign. The organization does not offer a technology product or software platform, focusing instead on grantmaking, fundraising facilitation, and educational content through its vlog series.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grant Awards Program Annual grant program that awards funding typically ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to U.S.-based 501c3 nonprofit organizations working domestically and internationally to remove barriers to education for girls and women. Since 2011, the program has granted approximately $2.5 million to 95 mission-aligned organizations across Africa, Asia, North America, and South America.
• School Build Program School construction initiative implemented in partnership with buildOn that funds school builds in Guatemala, Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Senegal. The program enables donors to participate in trek teams, traveling to communities to work alongside local residents in construction. To date, 50 schools have been built, with nearly 6,000 students (50% girls) attending schools in their own communities.
• Sustainer Circle Recurring giving program allowing donors to set up automatic monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual donations, providing predictable ongoing support for the foundation's operations. Donors determine their own gift amount and billing cadence.
• Legacy Circle (Planned Giving) Planned giving program allowing donors to include Circle of Sisterhood Foundation as a beneficiary through bequests, retirement account beneficiaries, or life insurance policy beneficiaries, ensuring perpetuity of support through estate planning.
• My Circle for the Circle Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Peer-to-peer fundraising platform powered by Network for Good that allows individual donors to create personal fundraising pages to raise money for Circle of Sisterhood, leveraging their social networks and circles of influence to support the organization's mission.

Quantifiable outcome

• 32 countries impacted on four continents
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and supporting.

• buildOncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Implementing partner for Circle of Sisterhood's school build program. buildOn provides proven methodology ensuring girls have equal chance as boys in classrooms. Community members build their own schools with local government and education ministry partnership. CofS donors can participate in trek teams to work alongside community members.
• Alpha Omicron Pi (AOII)keyGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial Empowerment Sponsor of Circle of Sisterhood. AOII has over 190,000 initiated members and 136 collegiate chapters across U.S. and Canada. 14 members have participated in 7 cultural immersion treks to break ground on school builds in 5 countries. Two AOII members currently serve as CofS volunteers.
• Phired Up / TechniPhisupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate donor supporting Circle of Sisterhood. Believes fraternities and sororities can change the world through collective power of sorority women.
• MJ Insurance - Sorority DivisionsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate donor with motto 'women helping other women.' Supports Circle of Sisterhood as part of their philanthropic initiatives.
• Campus Sorority Communities (341)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollegiate Panhellenic councils and individual sorority chapters raise funds and awareness for Circle of Sisterhood. Examples include University of Tennessee Panhellenic (raised over $200,000 since 2012), Western Kentucky University Panhellenic (raised nearly $50,000 since 2011), and many others across North America.
• Alumnae Organizations (28+)keyChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlumnae Panhellenic associations and sorority alumnae chapters that donate to and support Circle of Sisterhood. Examples include Chicago Alumnae Panhellenic, New York City Alumnae Panhellenic, and many others.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Girl Rising: Nonprofit using storytelling and education advocacy to advance girls' education globally. Compares to CofS's grantmaking and vlog-driven storytelling approach but operates through media/campaigns rather than direct grantmaking.

Direct peers

• buildOn: Global nonprofit that builds schools in developing countries and is CofS's strategic implementing partner for the school build program. Highly comparable because it shares the international education-infrastructure mission and serves the same end beneficiaries in overlapping geographies.
• Delta Delta Delta Foundation: Charitable foundation of Delta Delta Delta (Tri Delta), whose alumnae include CofS Board Chair Nicole Hughes. Closely comparable foundation model leveraging sorority alumnae networks for collective philanthropic impact.
• Alpha Xi Delta Foundation: Charitable foundation of Alpha Xi Delta sorority and the organization founded by Circle of Sisterhood's founder Ginny Carroll. Highly comparable as a sorority-affiliated 501(c)(3) foundation raising funds from the same collegiate and alumnae population for mission-aligned causes.
• Pi Beta Phi Foundation: Foundation supporting Pi Beta Phi sorority's literacy and educational initiatives. Comparable as a sorority-affiliated grantmaking foundation raising funds from collegiate and alumnae members for education-related causes.
• Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation: Charitable foundation of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority funding scholarships, fellowships, and educational programming. Directly comparable sorority-affiliated foundation model with similar donor-acquisition mechanics and alumnae giving programs.
• She's the First: Nonprofit that funds girls' education in low-income countries and is a current CofS grantee. Highly comparable as a girls'-education grantmaking organization working with similar international implementing partners and serving the same end beneficiaries.
• Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation: Foundation arm of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, which is also Circle of Sisterhood's official Empowerment Sponsor (190,000+ members, 136 chapters). Directly comparable as a sorority-affiliated grantmaking foundation mobilizing the same donor demographic.

Broad incumbents

• Room to Read: Large established international nonprofit focused on girls' education and literacy across Asia and Africa. Broader incumbent in the same cause area but operating at significantly greater scale and geographic breadth than CofS's grantmaking model.
• Malala Fund: High-profile global girls'-education nonprofit co-founded by Malala Yousafzai. Comparable mission of removing barriers to girls' education, but operates at substantially larger scale and through advocacy and direct program funding rather than sorority-driven collective philanthropy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CofS_Foundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/circleofsisterhood1/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/CircleofSisterhoodFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/circle-of-sisterhood-foundation-inc-
• Instagraminstagram.com/circleofsisterhood

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Circle of Sisterhood Foundation, Inc.