News
Grants process is rolling: 207 LOIs reviewed

We appreciate the time and effort that 207 nonprofit organizations dedicated to submitting Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) to Impact100 Philadelphia for the 2020 grant cycle. Committees of experienced members read and discussed these applications last week, and all LOI applicants were sent an update on their application's status.

Some takeaways:

  • Overall, our applicants' scope of services, accomplishments, and proposal quality were excellent.
  • Of the 207 submissions, 72 organizations were invited to submit a Full Proposal by February 6.
  • While 35% of our LOI applicants will move forward, we realize that this is disappointing for the 65% who won't. We hope that those applicants feel that their effort spent on the LOI is offset by having committees of careful readers who now know more about the organization and its core work and goals.
  • In letters to applicants last week, we provided feedback about our review process with the intention of being transparent and sharing information that might help organizations in the future with their applications to Impact100 or other funders.

During this next phase, from February to May, about 200 Impact members will work in Focus Area Committees (FACs) to review Full Proposals, conduct site visits, and select the six grant finalists who will present to the full membership at our Annual Meeting on June 1.

Thank you in advance to the women who have chosen to participate on FACs and our ongoing thanks to each and every one of Impact's 451 members for pooling their individual funds into grants that will total $424,000. The total is large but given the LOIs submitted, we know already that there will be many compelling proposals that we're not able to fund.

We hope more women will continue to join in Impact100's collective giving. Donating together, we can do far more than we can as individuals .
Key Dates
MEMBERSHIP DATES & EVENTS

  • By today, Jan 21: Focus Area Committee volunteers should have received a welcome email from their committee chairs

  • Jan 27: Grants Process Training program especially for members new to the grants process, but all are encouraged to attend - Members, rsvp here


EVENTS COMING THIS SPRING

These programs are open to members and also to women interested in learning about Impact100. Watch our Events page for details.

  • Date TBD: Spring Education Program - information coming next month

  • Monday, June 1: Annual Meeting
"Why I'm a member"
Eileen O'Donnell joined Impact100 in 2018. She said:
I’m proud to be a member. I joined because I wanted to take my involvement with nonprofits to a new level. Impact100 has given me a birds-eye view to the immense need for funds and leadership. I'd been planning on graduate school but wavered on the direction; Impact100 played a part in my decision to apply for La Salle’s Nonprofit Leadership Program and I’m on track to graduate in Fall 2021.

My favorite thing is that Impact100 really lets each member dictate her level of involvement. Last year I was on the Environment FAC and it was a wonderful experience. This year, I won't have much spare time, so I opted to sit out. 
Patricia Ma is a new member this year. About these early days with Impact, Pat said:
Impact100 is very well organized, respectful of everyone's time, and appears to be proactive in reaching women of a range of ages and backgrounds.

I joined because I want to learn more about collective philanthropy, interacting with women from diverse paths who share an interest in Philadelphia area nonprofits.

I have already appreciated learning about new nonprofit organizations through Impact100.
Grantee update: Community Volunteers in Medicine
In 2017, Impact100 members awarded Community Volunteers in Medicine (CVIM) a $100,000 core mission grant. Here are some summary excerpts from CVIM's 2019 final grant report: 
  • Funding from Impact100 enabled CVIM to expand our preventative and restorative dental services to serve two at-risk populations—seniors without dental insurance and uninsured Hispanic adults isolated in a more remote area of Chester County.
  • Thanks to your funding, CVIM continues to provide integrated and expanded behavioral health services including mental health and social services counseling, psychiatric visits, and access to onsite prescription medications.
  • Our Patient Education program continues to advance our clinic’s ‘connection’ with our patients by fully integrating the use of “CareMessage” — a nonprofit contracted service that targets underserved populations by providing focused wellness information in 3-5 messages per week. CareMessage teaches, encourages, and assesses patient knowledge.
  • Throughout the funding period, each of our services highlighted in our original proposal (dental outreach, behavioral health and patient education) expanded access, added specific services or modalities, and positively affected the health and wellbeing of patients we serve. 

In CVIM's Mission Moment video, Dr. Mary Wirshup, VP of Medical Affairs, says CVIM should be a model for other providers across the country : "We have a very unique situation in that we have -- in this medical home -- dental, behavioral health, medical, multiple specialties, social work, education, diabetic education, nutrition education, tobacco dependence program... all in one place. " 

A CVIM patient adds, "I'm a person who's working professionally but I do not make enough to pay for health insurance. This is my lifeline . This is where I come."

CVIM's 480 volunteer clinicians and support professionals donate more than 56,000 hours of their professional time each year. Dr. Wirshup says, "They come for all different reasons. They are the salt of the earth, the best people in the world."

Watch CVIM's Mission Moment video here .
Impact100's website has summary information about all grantees from 2009 to 2019.
Would you like to join us or tell others about Impact100?
Impact100 Philly's growth is due to our members' enthusiasm for collective giving.
If you'd like to tell others about our organization , please feel free to forward
this newsletter - and we thank you for spreading the word.
If you or a friend or colleague would like to join Impact100 , we'd love to have you!

Women age 36 and over join for $1,150; of that total, $1,000 is added to the grants pool for 2021. Women 35 and under join as Young Philanthropists at half that rate, $575.

Members who join or renew now are much-appreciated supporters for the June 2021 grants. Your early support is tremendously helpful for future planning, and we welcome you to attend events throughout 2020, follow our email updates, and learn about Impact100 during the year ahead.