Launching January 2027 · Chania, Crete
They gave us roots. We can help their home thrive.
100 people. $100 a year. Exponential impact on the place we love.
Before Chania was a place we visited, it was a place our families called home. Its villages, neighborhoods, and harbor held the lives of people whose stories became our own. Across oceans and generations, something of this place stayed with us.
We carry it in a family name, a recipe, a story told around the table. We carry it in the generosity we learned from our parents and grandparents, in their resilience, and in their belief that we look after one another.
The Chania Giving Circle is a way to put that inheritance into practice. Our first goal is 100 people giving $100 a year to support community organizations across the Chania region. You donate, become a member of the circle, and help choose the charities that will receive our collective support at the end of the year. Together, we can help care for the place that helped make us who we are.
Join the Chania Giving Circle How it works
What we inherit asks something of us.
Our connection to Chania is a gift. It also gives us a responsibility: to care about the people who live there today, and about the future they are building for their children.
Remembering our ancestors can be an active commitment. We can honor their lives by supporting the community that shaped them. We can teach the next generation that belonging means showing up, even from far away.
Chania is a living community, with people working every day to care for their neighbors and make their home stronger. The circle will support local organizations with ideas rooted in that community and a clear plan for putting our shared contributions to work.
We cannot all live in Chania. We can all take part in its future.
A connection we can act on, together.
A single contribution becomes part of something larger when others stand beside us. Your $100 joins the gifts of people who share your affection for Chania. You help choose the projects we support, and you receive updates on what those gifts make possible.
You may be joining in memory of a grandparent, for the village your parents left, or for the children you hope will always feel connected to Greece. You may have discovered Chania later in life and found a place that feels like home. You belong in this circle, too.
The Chania Giving Circle is led by Founding Chair Gregory C. Pappas and administered by the Greek America Foundation. Its strength will come from the people who choose to join it.
A small commitment. A shared purpose.
One annual contribution of $100 is the starting point. Together, 100 members raise $10,000: $8,000 for two local grants and $2,000 to support the oversight, communication, and reporting that help you follow your contribution’s impact.
You deserve to know what happens after you give. Eighty percent of your contribution supports community grants. The remaining 20% supports the Greek America Foundation’s work to review proposals, stay in contact with the charities, follow their progress, and report back to you. It also covers the practical work of processing contributions, managing the member vote, and transferring grants responsibly.
This is how we make transparency part of the program from the beginning. Your contribution helps sustain both the local projects and the care and accountability behind them, so you can stay connected to the work you support and the circle can continue serving Chania year after year.
Our first goal is 100 members, not our limit. As the circle grows, the community share grows too, increasing the two grants equally. The two $4,000 grants are confirmed once the circle is fully funded or GAF has approved support to cover a shortfall.
You give. Together, we choose.
The Chania Giving Circle launches in January 2027. Your annual $100 contribution makes you an individual member, with an equal voice in choosing the charities we support. Each year follows the same calendar.
January: a new year of giving begins. Members come together for another year of shared giving and community support.
June–September 15: local charities apply. GAF opens applications in June to organizations serving the Chania Regional Unit. Each proposes a specific project with a clear plan. The deadline is September 15.
September 15–October 15: GAF reviews. The Foundation reviews the proposals, checks eligibility, manages conflicts of interest, and approves four finalists.
October 15: you help choose. The approved finalists’ applications are posted on the website and secure member voting begins. Every active paid member receives one ballot and chooses two of the four finalists. Members receive voting instructions and the voting deadline in advance.
After the vote: support and accountability. Once the vote is verified, the two highest-ranked finalists receive the grants. Members receive the results, project updates, and a public year-end account of the funds and what they achieved.
GAF administers the funds and retains responsibility for grant approvals and transfers. The chair recruits and connects the circle; he does not choose the recipients alone.
A place in the circle
The first 100 members will be our Founding Members, with public recognition only by permission. Everyone who joins after that has the same voting rights.
You may participate in your own name, honor someone, remember someone you love, or remain anonymous. A dedication is an expression of your connection; your membership and ballot remain yours.
The people bringing this circle to life.
Every member helps Chania move forward. Here we recognize members who have chosen to share their name or dedication. Anonymous members are equally part of our circle.
Our circle is beginning. Member names and dedications will appear here after membership and permission are confirmed.
To change or remove your recognition, contact the Foundation.
For those who came before us. For those who call Chania home today.
Think of the person who first connected you to Chania. A parent. A grandparent. Someone who taught you where your family began. Joining the circle is one way to carry their care for this place forward.
Become a founding member for $100 a year. Take part in choosing the projects we support, and invite someone you love to stand beside you.
Let the next chapter of our connection to Chania be something we build together.
Membership renews automatically each year. Members receive advance renewal notice and can cancel future renewals. Eighty percent supports community grants; 20% sustains the oversight, ongoing contact with charities, and reporting that keep you informed.
You’ll continue to the Greek America Foundation’s donation page. Your membership contribution is $100, charged today and renewed automatically each year. You can choose public recognition or remain anonymous, and decide whether to receive circle email updates.
Questions before joining? Contact the Foundation.
A few things to know
Do I have to be from Chania?
No. The circle welcomes people with family roots, personal connections, or simply a love for Chania. The funded work must benefit the Chania Regional Unit.
Is this the same as GAF membership?
No. Your $100 contribution is membership in the Chania Giving Circle. It is separate from the Greek America Foundation’s General Membership.
Who can receive a grant?
Eligible nonprofit and community-serving organizations with a specific project, responsible leadership, and the ability to account for the funds. Grants do not go to individuals. Religiously affiliated organizations may apply for secular projects serving the wider community.
How will I know where the money goes?
GAF will publish the recipients, grant amounts, voting participation, the 80%/20% allocation, and updates on the funded work. Individual ballots and private donor information remain confidential.