The giving circle (a cross-class, multi-racial, and intergenerational giving circle housed at Third Wave Fund) is made up of a group of Fellows with current or past experience with sex work or the sex trade. Fellows annually mobilize resources, make all high-level funding decisions and grantmaking recommendations, bring their voices and leadership into philanthropy, while strengthening community power. Participation in the Fellowship is open to people living everywhere in the United States and its territories, including American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The giving circle requires a commitment of a minimum of 15 hours per month over five months (typically March – August). This includes attendance of at least 18 virtual meetings and trainings, each ranging between 1.5 – 3 hours in length; 1 to 2 virtual events; plus independent work in between meetings. 

All Fellows will receive a $2,000 stipend in recognition of the labor and time that goes into participating in the program. The stipend is divided into three payments across the beginning, middle, and end of the program. All Fellows will also receive a food and grocery stipend of $500, as well as professional interpretation and childcare reimbursements when requested.

• Training: A key part of the giving circle is collective study. Fellows will learn together and from movement leaders about topics like the racial wealth divide, mainstream philanthropy, grassroots fundraising, grantmaking and more as we prepare to raise money and distribute it to sex worker-led projects across the U.S.
• Fundraising: Each Fellow will receive training and support to fundraise within their networks and broader communities. Fellows will have opportunities to engage in grassroots fundraising projects as decided by the group.
• Grantmaking: Fellows will receive training to support the grantmaking process, including application review and collective decision-making about who receives funding.
• Philanthropic Advocacy: Fellows will have opportunities to engage with the broader philanthropic field and create guidelines and principles for funders with the goal of shifting how they engage with sex workers and sex trade issues.
  

Build Community: Fellows will have space to build relationships with other current and former sex workers, share stories and knowledge, break bread together, and learn and grow within community.