WOMEN TRANSFORMING SONOMA COUNTY THROUGH COLLECTIVE PHILANTHROPY | OCTOBER 2022 | ISSUE 61 |
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7th Annual Awards Celebration - November 5th
Don't miss this one!
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If you want to feel the power of Impact 100 Redwood Circle, this is the meeting to attend!
On Saturday, November 5th, we will surpass $1.2 million of philanthropic giving in Sonoma County – quite an accomplishment for an organization only 7 years old! In addition to the live announcement of the 2022 Impact and Merit Grant winners, we are inviting back three past Impact Grantees!
Forget Me Not Farm and 4Cs Sonoma County will each speak to how they put their Impact Grant to work, especially under the challenges of COVID 19. We are excited to hear their final reports. The LIME Foundation, our 2021 Impact Grantee, will have a Next Gen training program graduate tell us how this training changed his life.
If you have not attended a meeting in a while, please consider joining our biggest annual celebration. We encourage you to attend in person and bring a guest! Currently, masks are optional, but always welcome and we’ll likely request that all attendees be current on COVID boosters. If you just can’t attend in person, there will be a ZOOM option.
Registration will open at 10 a.m. at Sally Tomatoes in Rohnert Park. Coffee, juice and pastries will be available and indoor seating will be at round tables. Our great lineup of speakers will start at 10:30 a.m. and conclude before noon. Watch for the registration link on October 15th. Pre-registration for all guests is due by Oct 30th for food ordering purposes. If you register and find you cannot attend, please let us know so we can adjust our costs.
If you decide to bring a friend after already registering, they can easily register via the link on the website – make sure they note your name in the comment section.
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2022 Impact Grant Finalists
What our members are voting on
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Our three Impact Grant Finalists - Jewish Community Free Clinic (JCFC), KBBF Public Radio, and Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services (VIDAS) Legal – have each made a significant proposal to improve social equity in Sonoma County.
Jewish Community Free Clinic
JCFC plans to implement an electronic health records system that would allow their clients to easily transfer their health information between health care providers, promoting health equity for the most underserved populations in our community.
Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services
VIDAS Legal’s idea for serving people facing deportation without representation is three-fold: Triage - identify the most urgent cases and provide a removal defense attorney; Training - educate a cohort of lawyers in this specialized area of law; and Tracking - gather data on the positive economic and social impacts of removal defense.
KBBF Public Radio
KBBF Public Radio is poised to develop a greater online and social media presence to reach to a younger demographic with their public education and information programs in Spanish and Latin American indigenous languages. They are proposing the first bilingual radio app which will allow for direct audience interactions with a live host and provide online access to all their programming.
Voting by members for the Impact Grant will take place online between Oct. 24 - Nov. 2. Winners will be announced live at the Impact Grant Awards Celebration on Nov. 5th.
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Grant Making Task Force
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Last June we told you about a new Grant Making Task Force which was formed by our co-presidents, Cindy and Mindi. It was created for two purposes: first, to review and learn about the current and emerging grant making philosophies, innovative approaches, and trends of other philanthropic organizations in the United States; and second, to recommend refining our current grant making practices and grantee engagement practices with a focus specifically on new practices that would align with the Core Values of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which our membership approved in the spring of 2020.
The Task Force has been working hard since May and is closing in on some best practices that they are considering recommending for adoption. They are now at the point of holding personal conversations with some of our members to test the thinking and these recommendations. They plan to interview over 20 Impact 100 Redwood Circle members who have extensive knowledge about our current grant making practices including the current and most of the tenured Impact and Community Grants Chairs, all past presidents, all current and most of the past Liaison Committee Chairs, as well as tenured and new members. They also plan to interview 10 external stakeholders who are knowledgeable in innovative approaches to philanthropy and are highly connected to our local nonprofits.
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ED TALKS: Melissa Struzzo, Substance Abuse in Sonoma County
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We have all heard about the fentanyl overdoses which get glaring headlines. We don’t hear about pain medication addiction, candy flavored vaping, pills instead of alternative therapies.
Join us for a conversation on Thursday October 20 with Melissa Struzzo who will share information about this topic as it happens across all demographics; no matter the age, culture or family situation. She will revisit ACEs (Adverse Childhood Events) with us and relate how early trauma can have a major influence in later life and is associated with the use of addictive drugs.
We will learn about the relationship between the County Health Department, health providers and non-profits doing this work
October 20th at 4:30 p.m.
Registration will remain open thru the 20th and the Zoom link will be sent immediately after you register. Hope to see everyone on Thursday!
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Spring Lake Hike & Potluck
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Celebrate autumn's cooler temperatures and get outside! Join Impact 100 Redwood Circle Founder and Executive Director of Sonoma Parks Foundation, Melissa Kelley, for a hike and potluck at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa.
Pre-COVID, Melissa led monthly hikes for our NextGen group. Now Melissa invites all Impact 100 Redwood Circle members, their families, and prospective members to join her for some outdoor exploration and fun. More than one hike option will be offered to engage all activity levels and after our Spring Lake adventure, everyone is welcome to mingle at the ensuing potluck.
October 22
10:00 a.m. hike
11:15 a.m. potluck
Picnic Area at the Upper Knoll at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa
Please keep an eye out for an email to rsvp, or use the link on our calendar and website to do so and join us!
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New Members
Lindy McLaren
Heather McLintock
Bonnie Meltzer
Carol Peters
Ann Marie Trione
New: Passing of a Member Protocol
We have developed a process by which Impact 100 Redwood Circle is notified of and a protocol is followed consistently to acknowledge the death of a member. This process will be published on our website in the near future.
The full membership is asked to be aware of passings and to notify the Membership Committee (impact100membership@gmail.com) of the death of a member. The Membership Committee will draft a brief copy of the member’s life and send to the full membership to share the news. A condolences card will be sent to the family on behalf of our organization.
Core Values Award
Please let your friends and colleagues know of our Core Values Award. Together with Impact 100 Redwood Circle Presidents, the Membership Committee vets applicants. Please encourage women from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities, who have a strong commitment to better understanding, fostering, and financially supporting nonprofit organizations in Sonoma County, to apply. Contact impact100membership@gmail.com for more information.
Other Recruitment Tools
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Liaison: YES! River Program
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This year’s Youth Exploring Sonoma’s River (YES! River) program was a tremendous success thanks to support from Impact 100 Redwood Circle! The 8-week program launched with 24 participants aged 13-17 years old, and 21 of the youth completed the experience. Most of the teens live in the lower Russian River communities and had had limited exposure to the outdoors. They were primarily BIPOC (Black, Indigenous or People of Color) and/or from low-income families. During this program, youth learned about the significance of the Russian River, including its impact in their community, history, environment, and the animals that live in or alongside it. Teens took a variety of field trips to expand their understanding of the river, including:
- Shone Farm to learn about the significance of water for agriculture
- The Sonoma County Water Agency to learn about drinking water
- The Monte Rio Recreation and Park District to learn about the Russian River’s importance to the tourism industry
- 8 other sites along the Russian River.
In addition, youth had an opportunity to connect with professionals who work outdoors including a lifeguard, a park aide, Russian River-Keepers' staff, a park ranger, a professor of Geography, Environment, and Planning, and a biologist who also represents the Kashia tribe.
An important part of YES! River is ensuring teens learn how to use the program and time outdoors to strengthen their physical and mental health. The teens regularly spent time with program leaders and each other sharing issues that are on their minds. They reported feeling stressed by mental health concerns, financial strains on their families, fear about COVID, school shootings, and changes in their lives. Teens learned to use nature as a mental and physical health resource. Each YES! River experience began with a daily check-in to discover how the youths were feeling and plan so they knew what to expect for the day. Teens lead conversations amongst themselves about the health benefits of nature. They played games or engaged in recreation activities where the young people put their ideas about healthy nature time into practice.
Recreational activities the teens enjoyed during YES! River included paddle boarding, kayaking,
camping, hiking, inner-tubing, and lots of swimming. Sonoma County Regional Parks conducts surveys to evaluate participants’ experience in Regional Parks programs, and 100% of the YES! River teens stated they had a fun time at this program.
The youth also learned to care for their environment. Over the course of the 8 weeks, they participated in three stewardship projects, like pulling invasive species and cleaning up trash. For their culminating project, the YES! River cohort directed a stewardship project in which they planned
and led a cleanup at Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach.
Regional Parks and the Parks Foundation recognize the importance of providing equitable access to a program like YES! River. This program is offered at no charge to the teen participants. Funding from Impact 100 Redwood Circle and other organizations is critical to making the program possible. In addition, recognizing that these young people could be using time in the program to work and help support their families, and that gas expenses are a burden for many families, young people who completed the program received a stipend of $100.
All in all, the teens were enthusiastic about their experience at YES! River, and many expressed
interest in participating in future Sonoma County Regional Parks youth programs. Past participants in the YES! series of programs have used their experience as the subject for college essays or a stepping stone to employment at Sonoma County Regional Parks. Thanks to your support, this program can open doors to a teen’s future!
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