Dear friends,
Our members have asked for a summary description that they can easily
forward to tell friends about Impact100
. We love that idea, and here it is!
Impact100 Philadelphia
is a collective grant-making organization that enables women to turn their personal donations into $100,000 grants to highly deserving nonprofit organizations in the five-county Philadelphia region.
By pooling our contributions, Impact100 members can make an impact that wouldn't be possible as separate individuals.
Since 2009, our women members have awarded more than $3 million in grants. Members say that their Impact experience is gratifying, educational, and fun. They learn about remarkable nonprofit work in our region and spend time with interesting women they wouldn't encounter otherwise. The main reason women join us is to leverage their personal donation into something big and meaningful.
Here’s how Impact100 Philadelphia works:
- To join, a woman must be 21 years or older, and must donate $1,150 by December 1. Of that amount, $1,000 goes straight into the pool of grant funds for the coming year. Women who are 35 or younger may join as Young Philanthropists by donating $575.
- Membership is a one-year commitment and there is no obligation to participate beyond donating.
- Grant finalists are determined through a detailed process of proposal review and evaluation by members, and grant recipients are selected by a vote of the membership -- one woman, one vote.
One of the most significant things to note about our organization is that each member chooses her level of involvement. Of our 398 members last year, many were "quiet investors" who wanted only to make their donation and cast their vote for grantees. Many others participated actively by serving on a Focus Area Committee to review proposals and conduct site visits to applicant organizations. Each year, for those who want to engage further, there are o
pportunities to serve in leadership roles or a range of other volunteer commitments. And as an organization, we host a number of educational and speaker programs throughout the year in Center City and surrounding suburbs.
Demographically our members are a diverse group who live across the region. We span six decades from Young Philanthropists in their early 20s to members in their 80s. Professionally, we run the gamut from early-career professionals to stay-at-home parents, from executives to small business owners, pa
rt-time workers,
and retirees. It is that very mix of backgrounds and perspectives that makes membership so interesting.
Now in our twelfth year, we remain excited about the impact of this unique philanthropic model, how we can collectively contribute to our region's phenomenal nonprofit community, and how we each can find meaning -- on our own terms -- through our membership. We would love to have you join us for the 2020 grants!
Madge Rothenberg & Carolyn Ashburn
Co- Presidents
info@impact100philly.org
