Impact 100 Jersey Coast is 430 members strong this year! We have nearly tripled in size since our inaugural class of 145 members back in 2016, which is an amazing achievement. As we grow, the structure of our organization also needs to mature and grow with us. We need new faces, voices, and perspectives to help us lead and grow our organization in this next stage of its evolution. We also need to formalize our processes and procedures to ensure the long-term health of Impact and to build for its future--so that we may continue providing critical support to the nonprofit community for many years to come.
To this end, we have undertaken three big endeavors.
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First, we have set up a Governance Committee within our Advisory Group, which is Impact Jersey Coast’s principal administrative body. This Governance Committee is tasked with formalizing our policies and procedures, ensuring continuity of leadership, and making sure we are operating purposefully and responsibly.
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Second, we formed a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) working group that has been meeting regularly for almost a year. Tasked with identifying ways Impact 100 Jersey Coast can ensure the core values of DE&I are incorporated into who we are as an organization and the work we do for the community, the working group created these key objectives:
To expand involvement and recruitment of a more diverse population of membership; and to evolve our selection processes to ensure the reach and impact of our grants are as inclusive as possible.
In the coming months, as Impact 100 Jersey Coast continues on this path of exploration, the DE&I working group will begin to integrate its findings, language, and recommendations into the larger organization through membership educational programs and resources as well as opportunities for discussion.
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Third, we will be changing our leadership structure to include more of the incredibly talented women who are Impact members. The first step will be transitioning to a Co-President/Vice President structure. Heather Burke will join Deirdre Spiropoulos as Co-President, and Karen Waltz will transition from Operations Chair to the Vice President role. Our goal in making this move is to create continuity within our leadership and a defined path for succession.
Speaking of succession and leadership transitions, we have developed a Leadership Interest Survey. This is a great chance to raise your hand if you’d like to be considered for leadership roles within the organization. The survey is brief, and if you complete it to tell us you’d like to learn more about leadership opportunities, a member of the Advisory Group will reach out to discuss your interest.
Finally, we are excited to welcome four new Advisory Group members this April. We are thrilled to announce that Tasha Youngblood Brown, Holly Deitz, Linda Lautenberg, and Gina Petillo have generously agreed to bring their time, commitment, and expertise to help lead Impact 100 Jersey Coast. You can visit our Leadership page to read more about these amazing women. Please join us in welcoming them!
