Impact 100’s value commitments include: 1) Educating women to be informed philanthropists, 2) Providing avenues to our members to learn about the nonprofits in our communities 3) Collaborating within our membership and community and 4) Creating a culture of respect, inclusivity and belonging.
As part of honoring those commitments, we have a range of Unplugged with Impact 100 events designed to connect members, nonprofits, and prospective Impact friends and members to one another. Thanks to Barb Wriston-Ruddy, Joann Hagopian and the recruiting team for putting together these fun and informative events! Through the efforts of our DEI Education team led by Nickol Mora, we have multiple opportunities to join with others to learn, to dialogue, and to meet new people- sharing our own experiences and hearing about the lived experiences of others. I hope to see you at one of these opportunities! Registration information for all these events are in this newsletter and are also available on the website at www.impact100.org.
There are several ways that you can also help Impact 100 to grow into the future. Can you invite a friend to join you at an event? Can you host your own Spread the Word for family, friends, and neighbors? Do you know a business that could contribute in-kind services to Impact 100 or become a financial sponsor? Even as an all-volunteer organization, it costs us about $100,000 to run the organization as a respected nonprofit including areas such as website support, a yearly audit, grant recipient awards, and administrative support for events and membership. The only way we can grow our impact and fund more transformative grants is to spread the word about Impact 100 and encourage others to join us on our journey! In the near future, you will see references to Impact 100 in Movers and Makers and hear announcements on NPR Morning Edition as we work to bring more awareness about Impact 100 and the work we are doing to “collectively fund transformative grants that have a lasting impact.” If you have ever served on a Grant Review Team, participated in a site visit, or voted at the Annual Awards Celebration, you know that it is ALWAYS difficult to select our recipients- there are SO MANY worthwhile proposals and SO MANY deserving nonprofits. Please consider how you can “Spread the Word”, help us garner more community connections and support, and help us be a “catalyst in creating an equitable and thriving community.”
Finally, in order to provide meaningful and streamlined communication to our members and partners, we are updating the frequency of our newsletter to quarterly distribution beginning in July. We hope this change will create a better balance in your inbox and provide a more consistent structure to our content. Don’t worry- there won’t be dead air for three months! Signature events and experiences like our Unplugged series and Equity Conversations will be done through direct messaging so you don’t miss exciting opportunities to engage. And be sure to SAVE THE DATE for the Annual Awards Celebration to be held at Music Hall on Tuesday, September 20! More details to follow!
I am honored and excited to serve as President of Impact 100 for 2022, and grateful to work alongside an incredibly talented and committed working board of awesome women and alongside all the women of Impact 100.
Gratefully yours,
Kathy Thornton
President
