Gift-giving is one of the best and most universal ways to show your gratitude and love for someone. It’s a way to express your feelings when words aren’t enough. The time-old tradition of giving gifts is not going away any time soon, but it is changing – and for the better! With our world being more connected than ever before, we have options for more convenient, efficient, and meaningful ways to show our love to family and friends. So, what is group gifting?

If the term ‘group gifting’ is new to you, below is everything you’ll need to know, from what it means to group gift, to how to choose the perfect one for your first setup. Welcome to Group Gifting 101!

What is group gifting?

We all know what it feels like to want to celebrate with someone who’s too far away. Group gifting makes it easy and fun to celebrate a special occasion from anywhere.

A group gift is a single gift that a circle of friends, family, or coworkers can all pitch in on. Group gifting allows all parties involved to gift bigger, better gifts and do so more sustainably and socially, without breaking the bank. 

If your love language is not gifting, group gifting is perfect because it has elements of other love languages, such as the act of coming together and the affirmations in your group card. By using Presently, you are gifting beyond a convenient gift, don’t have to figure out what to give to ‘someone who already has everything’, and are using the power of community to show someone they are appreciated.

When should I give a group gift?

Group gifting is a great way to simplify gifting when there are many people in a group – such as an extended friend group, an entire office, or a distributed team. Setting up a group gift removes the logistics headache and makes it easy to bring everyone to one platform to celebrate. It also removes the awkward Venmo requests, tedious excel trackers, and time-consuming Powerpoint presentations with everyone’s messages, and instead enables the group to afford a higher-ticket item that the recipient otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford on their own. How awesome does a big surprise gift from a giant group of your best friends or coworkers sound? 

The same goes for a huge family dynamic! Instead of receiving twenty small gifts from each one of your cousins, think about encouraging the family to set up a group gift for the present of your dreams. 

How does group gifting work?

Three key steps: create, connect, and celebrate! Check out our video below for a great overview, or scroll below for the summary!

• First, create: nominate an organizer to organize the gift on Presently! If you’re reading this piece, the organizer will most likely be you! And don’t worry, we’ve made it so easy it’ll actually save you time. You’ll choose the recipient, the gift, and the date.
• Next, connect: now that the gift is set up, invite your circle to contribute! You’ll have a shareable link to spread across your entire network that contributors can use to seamlessly pitch in toward the gift and drop a message for the group card.
• Finally, celebrate! On the day of delivery, the recipient will receive an email with a link to their personalized group card, full of special notes from everyone who participated, as well as information on their gift. They’ll also receive access to the gift redemption portal, which will allow them to redeem their gift of their choice, and lastly, will be able to send a thank you note to everyone who participated!
  Or you can watch this simple video on how group gifting works.

What occasions can I use group gifting for? 

The possibilities for group gifting are endless! Here are some of the most common ways it can bring joy to celebrations: 

Office celebrations & appreciation

Gather an office for an unforgettable retirement gift, to celebrate a manager who has an upcoming baby shower, or as an appreciation gift for admins for National Administrator Appreciation Day. No more awkward Venmo requests — with the transition to remote work this year, it has never been easier to get a great gift for your manager or team member!

The best birthday ever

Your loved one may be turning 1 or 100 this year, and even though age is just a number, a group gift will help make their day special! Gather friends and family from near and far to get an awesome gift that they will remember for years to come.

Holiday gifts…minus the waste! 

The holiday season is the most wonderful time of year, and it is best spent showing our loved ones how much they mean to us. Group gifts reduce the clutter and waste of gifting without compromising quality. 

Any occasion!

Group gifting is perfect for every celebration. We have seen it for graduations, congratulations, baby showers, weddings, and even simple thank you’s. If you have another celebration in mind, we can handle it!

How do I pick a group gift? 

We’re here to make organizing and picking the perfect gift easy! Here are four tips to help you set up the Best. Gift. Ever…

1. Check out our gift guides: We have curated a page dedicated to gift ideas, with options for everyone on your list from baby cousin to grandma. You can find a gift for any recipient (or any occasion) here! Also look at our Most Giftable retailer list to support minority-owned businesses, or GiftPicker: a 30-second quiz that will help you pick the perfect gift for any recipient.
2. Invite a co-organizer: Managing the group gift becomes even more of a group effort once you invite a friend to help. This makes the process of watching the funds (and the funny card messages) roll in that much more exciting!
3. Put out a poll: Instagram’s poll feature lets your entire circle weigh in on the best gift option! If it’s a surprise group gift, there are plenty of other platforms with polling features that the group can also use without the giftee’s knowledge. 
4. Select a gift after the funds are raised: Do you have a really enthusiastic group in mind, but don’t know what on earth you want to raise money for? If you set up your group gift and decide after the funds are raised, you have the ability to use your wildest imagination to pick a gift that fits within your big group budget. 
5. Let the recipient choose! At Presently, we believe the recipient knows best, so let them swap or select a gift that will be most meaningful to them when they redeem their gift on our platform.

Ready to get started with group gifting?

Presently is helping shape the future of gifting and celebration, and we’re excited to share what we have in store over the next few years. In the meantime, set up a group gift and continue to gift better, together with Presently. 

ABOUT PRESENTLY

Presently is a group-gifting platform that gives people an easy way to contribute to a single gift, together. Presently enables communities to gift better, choosing quality over quantity. Organize a group gift here.

As an Amazon Affiliate, Presently earns from qualifying purchases.