A new social group in Natick is seeking to take the guessing out of giving.

“I was inspired by other giving groups I’d heard of,” said Natick resident Kate Eckstein. She founded the Natick Giving Club, which hosted its first meeting in late March.

The organization’s goal is to connect philanthropy with groups that depend on those donations.

Giving to good causes can come with a sense of uncertainty. Once givers hit that donate button, there’s little insight into how that money is being spent, and what percentage of it actually makes it to those organizations and neighbors who need it most.

In addition, it can be difficult to discern how effectively a charity organization is fulfilling its mission. By putting philanthropists and charities in the same room, the Natick Giving Club seeks to smooth some of those sources of friction.  

The organization was designed to bring a sense of transparency and community back to the process of local philanthropy. 

“No middleman, no red tape,” said Eckstein. “To make giving back to Natick easy and social and non-scary.”

The club plans to meet quarterly, and maintains an online presence to keep community members involved and informed.

During the Natick Giving Club’s inaugural event, three local nonprofits were invited to share their mission before the group of gathered givers. Those charities included “A Place to Turn,” “The Natick Service Council,” and “Spark Kindness.”

The forum was designed to be a social gathering, at which each charity gave a presentation of its mission before an audience. The event included a question-and-answer session, where community members could glean more detailed info from each nonprofit. About 25 locals attended the meeting, and donations come from those members.  

“It was a small but mighty group,” said Eckstein.

Members would then vote to direct their donations to the organization they felt most met their charitable criteria. It was a tough list to choose from.

Eckstein was inspired to create the group by a philanthropic culture she found overly-formal.

“They have a lot of rules,” said Eckstein. “I wanted to be more inclusive and less rules-based. I want it to be an easy way to connect with organizations.”

The Natick Giving Club is a hyper-local version of other groups that have emerged in recent years, organizations whose mission is to remove much of the mystery associated with charitable giving.

“Give Well” is one of those. This online organization gathers research on the effectiveness of aid efforts worldwide. With that evidence-based data as its north star, Give Well recommends organizations and aid efforts that do the most good per dollar.

“Effective Altruism” is another. That movement also analyzes data to determine how efficient aid orgs are in meeting their respective missions. Based on those rankings, givers can make better and more-informed decisions about where to direct their resources.

The aim is the same for the Natick Giving Club, albeit with a social spin and emphasis on local community. The in-person meetings aren’t just about the facts, but also serve to put a friendly and familiar face to philanthropy and the groups to which they give.

That knack for making and maintaining connections is a skill that Eckstein has imported from her experience in the business sphere. From corporate culture, she gleaned the value of getting people in a room together, and the multiplier effect of those relationships. 

“I want it to be an easy way to connect with organizations,” said Eckstein. “You get to know other people in town who have the same goals as you do. I’d love for this group to sort of span beyond my group.”