As an organization, Impact 100 Cincinnati is constantly striving to improve the grant cycle for both our nonprofit partners and our members. We are excited to announce two changes for the Annual Awards Celebration (AAC) and Grant Awardee Selection Process in 2025:
- All Impact 100 members will receive finalist videos and executive summaries mid-August. The selection process and OpaVote portal will close on Sept. 4 at 6 p.m., which is earlier than in past years.
- All finalists will be notified of their status as a recipient or runner-up before the event is held.
The advance notice gives finalists a chance to consider whether they wish to attend the AAC. This solution will better allow us to celebrate ALL the deserving finalist organizations without them being forced to process disappointment in such a public forum. (Of note, Impact 100 members and guests will not be notified of the outcome until the event. This allows us to retain the element of surprise and create a collective moment of shared celebration, excitement, and accomplishment during our annual celebration.)
The changes we have made address concerns from past years that our process created anxiety and public embarrassment for non-recipients. Some finalist organizations described feeling public humiliation after months of working through the grant review process. Members and attendees provided similar feedback about feeling discomfort in watching the disappointed reactions from the recipients who were not finalists.
By notifying finalists of results in advance of the AAC, we hope to make them feel even more honored and valued. At the same time, this change allows us to honor the history of Impact 100 and highlight the process and event that makes us unique, with every member having a voice in selecting our grant recipients.
In 2024, we improved videos, provided finalists a full table to attend the AAC at no cost, and launched the extremely successful “Extend Your Impact” campaign to raise funds for runners-up organizations to receive up to a $10,000 award.) We are thrilled to continue these well-received changes!
In 2025, we will still share the finalists’ inspiring stories and projects so everyone will have a chance to hear about their impactful work. We believe that these adjustments will help us continue to grow our partnerships with the nonprofits, while also continuing to engage members and potential members in the spirit and fun of collective giving. You have to be there to fully experience the excitement!
As always, we welcome your engagement, questions or feedback. Feel free to reach out to any board member or email ideas@impact100.org. We look forward to celebrating with you on Sept. 25 for the 2025 Annual Awards Celebration.
