Stewardship Circles
Stewardship Circles
A Stewardship Circle lets a small group share the support of a single animal, instead of one exclusive steward. Each member pays monthly, each follows the animal, and the spots fill up like seats. Circles are ideal when a family, a barn, or a community wants to support an animal together, or when a cause is bigger than one person, like funding the round-the-clock protection of a rhino.
How a Circle is different
A Circle is an offering with more than one spot. Where an exclusive offering has a single steward, a Circle has a set capacity, several co-stewards, and a live count of how many spots are filled and open.
The Circle offering page
Here is Thandi, a southern white rhino supported by a conservation circle.
The page shows the shared nature of the support:
- A spot count, for example "2 of 6 stewardship spots are filled, 4 spots are open."
- The current co-stewards, each shown by their own recognition choice (a linked profile, a display name like "The Avery Family," or "Anonymous steward").
- A Join Stewardship Circle button for the open spots.
Joining a Circle
Joining works just like an exclusive stewardship, with a reminder of where you fit in the group.
Each member is billed individually and chooses their own recognition, so one co-steward can be public while another stays private. The full checkout walkthrough is in Becoming a steward.
Inviting co-stewards
If the caretaker enabled invites, active members can invite friends into open spots from their dashboard.
The invite panel shows how many spots are open and lets you invite someone by searching for an existing member, by email, or by text. Sent invites appear in a list where you can copy the link, share it, resend, or cancel. One rule to understand: an invitation does not reserve a paid spot. The spot is only taken when the invited person actually checks out, so a pending invite never blocks anyone else from joining.
How spots fill and reopen
Only checkouts in progress and active stewardships consume spots. A pending invitation does not. If a member cancels or their stewardship ends, their spot reopens for someone new. This is what keeps a Circle feeling personal: it is a small, finite group sharing one animal's care, not an open crowd.
Recognition in a Circle
Because each co-steward picks their own recognition, a Circle's public page naturally mixes linked profiles, family or group names, and anonymous supporters. The caretaker still sees every member's real account to manage the circle. To keep your Circle members happy, the rest is the same as any stewardship: post the updates you promised. See Caring for your stewards.
Related information
Updated on: 23/06/2026
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