Most people make room in their budget to give a little to charity during the holidays. The Giving Chicks give a little every month.

But some consistent donating, about $20 a month per member, has added up to $37,500 during the four-year life of the program.

“It is impressive when you think that we got there with just $20 at a time,” said Giving Chicks founder and former Kirkland resident Rose Klein at the group’s annual Christmas party at Shelly Montgomery’s Kirkland home Tuesday night. “I used to donate my time and money to different places and I wanted to help women and children but I didn’t just want to give.”

The group picks a different charity each month to donate to and has specific parameters. Klein said the Giving Chicks don’t give to charities that provide a one-time handout but they try to find groups that do more for the long-term stability of the person in need.

“Whether it provides the ability to get education, or childcare so they can get a job or more education, we want to provide the tools so they can get back on their feet,” said Klein.

Each month a Giving Chicks member will present an option of two different charities that fit the criteria and the members at the meeting vote as to which group to donate to. Some of the charities that have benefited from the Giving Chicks include Kirkland Interfaith Transitions in Homelessness (KITH), Seattle Milk Fund and Eastside Domestic Violence Program.

On Tuesday, the group voted to donate to Seattle-based Treehouse, which supports children in foster care.

Most of the charities don’t even know the money is coming until it arrives.

“I think it is the unexpectedness of the donations that surprise most of them,” said Klein. “But after four years it gets to be a challenge to find new charities and we sometimes end up supporting the same ones.”

Klein started the Giving Chicks with a generous donation of $250 from her father-in-laws’ co-worker.

And exceeding the $20 minimum is not uncommon in the group. The most came from a member who is a chiropractor. The woman would give free massages every Friday to people who may not normally be able to afford it. The only thing the woman would ask for in return was a possible donation. During the course of that year she raised $500 and gave it to the Giving Chicks. Klein began using the name Giving Chicks in emails when she started and the name stuck.

The group has fluctuated in size all the way up to a high of 60 members. But the Giving Chicks active membership normally stays around 45, with 20 or so attending the meetings. Most of the members come from the Eastside. Klein said she got the idea for the group from her career.

“My husband is a builder and I was the interior designer,” said Klein. “I was always associating with men because of my job and it served a need to meet and associate with women.”

But the group is not just all women. The group has two “roosters.” One of those roosters is prominent Kirkland photographer Bob Gassen of Humanature Photography.

“We have had members from Seattle but a lot are from Kirkland and Bellevue,” said Klein, who had lived in Kirkland for 12 years.

Klein said the group has even outlasted some of the charities it has given to.

Attendance at meetings is not mandatory. The only thing that members have to do is donate $20 a month. The group averaged $4,000 a month at its peak but still averages $700-800b despite the down economy.

“If they don’t come to meetings it is okay but they still have to give,” said Klein. “It is a really simple concept.”

The concept has even caught on with former members in other areas.

“Two former members broke off and started their own group out in Sammamish,” said Klein. That group has grown to 16 people.

Patricia Hansen of Redmond has been a member for three years and has her own organization as well.

“This group has done tremendous things for my non-profit Emerald City Lights,” said Hansen. “It is just an awesome idea with low overhead. It is just an inexpensive way to have a big impact. I would like to see more people get involved in things like this.”

Emerald City Lights Bike Ride raises money to feed families in the area.

Both women agree that they have made a lot of great friendships through Giving Chicks.

“The group is so supportive and the women are incredible,” said Hansen.

For more information about the Giving Chicks, e-mail Rose Klein at rosebudklein@yahoo.com