More than 300 people gathered to socialize, network, make new friends, and learn more about the needs in our community from our nonprofit finalists participating in two separate panel discussions.  Moderated by Impact board members Nickol Mora and Portia Dyrenforth, these panels focused on themes of Access and Dignity, and Youth Well Being and Community.  The evening culminated with the awarding of four $100,000 grants and a celebration of Impact 100’s collective giving, not only this year but over our 22-year history.  These significant grants will have a lasting impact in our Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky/Southeastern Indiana community, with lives changed through the work of our recipients.  Congratulations to:

• KTMIS (Keeping Teen Moms in School) – Transportation
• People Working Cooperatively – Workforce Development Project
• Samaritan Car Care Clinic – Vehicle Purchase Program[SW1]
• YES Home – YES Home Renovation

The Annual Awards Celebration (AAC) is the culmination of our collective work to award these transformative grants with a lasting impact.  It represents hundreds of hours from members and the board of Impact 100 to provide training and information to the nonprofit community, train and support Impact members to engage in the LOI/Grant Review/Site Visit cycle through the work of five grant review teams, and evaluate the financial health of the applicants through our Community Investment Review Committee (CIRC).  Thank you to all the volunteers (140+ members) who helped make this all possible.

In order to continue to inspire and support the work of Impact 100, we need YOU!  Here are some of the ways you can help now:

• Invite a young woman to apply to become a Young Philanthropist – supporting the next generation of women to be supportive of and engaged with our community.  For more information, read more in Catherine O’Shea’s article in the newsletter HERE,  go to https://impact100.org/get-involved/young-philanthropist-scholarship-program/ or email Catherine at coshea@impact100.org
• Participate in and invite a friend, colleague, or neighbor to attend one of our upcoming Mix and Mingle, Spread the Word, or Giving Tuesday events.  In order to grow our impact, we want to continue to grow our membership.  Click here to read more about/register for our upcoming events in this newsletter or go to https://impact100.org/events/month/2023-10/
• Update your membership profile in our new member portal to ensure you are receiving all communication from Impact 100.  Look for more details HERE in the newsletter and watch for the invitation from Impact 100 (administration@impact100.org) on October 5 to review your profile and renew your membership for 2024.
• If you choose to do so, you will also be able to donate additional funds to the operating expenses of Impact 100 (remember 100% of membership dollars go to our grant pool to fund our $100,000 grants), which include such things as the support services to manage our membership, events, and communication, as well as such required services as an annual financial audit, website maintenance and updates, marketing and public relations, other technology support and much more.
• If you choose to do so, you may contribute additional dollars to our grant pool, helping us on our desired journey to award five transformational grants in the near future.

For Impact 100, our mission of awarding transformative grants, our vision “to be a significant catalyst for creating an equitable thriving community for all,” and our values continue to be the foundations for our work today and for the years to come.   These values are to:

• Educate women to be informed philanthropists and provide avenues to our members to learn about the nonprofits in our communities
• Collaborate within our membership and the community
• Create a culture of respect, inclusivity and belonging while embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion in grant making, leadership and programming
• Ensure that 100% of membership dollars go directly into grants
• Aspire for quality and excellence in all that we do

I hope that you will continue to be a part of our journey or join as a new member, encourage others to join us, and be an engaged member of the community.

Warm regards,

Kathy Thornton

Impact 100 President