100+ Women Who Care committed to helping county’s small nonprofits

Over the course an hour, the Johnson County Public Library Foundation had the money it needed to sponsor its biggest reading program of the year.

There was enough left over to bring a New York Times bestselling author to town and buy every attendee one of her books, and remaining funds for a festival devoted to early children’s literature.

All it took was a vote by a group of philanthropic-minded women from across the county.

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“What it really does is opens up so many opportunities for us. We know our patrons enjoy unique learning experiences, and this gave some of our programs that added value that our residents are growing to love about (the library), but we can’t always fund it with our budget,” said Lisa Lintner, director of the Johnson County Public Library.

The $14,300 grant was given to the library foundation by 100+ Women Who Care, an organization that has proven making positive contributions to the community does not need to take months of work or huge individual donations. The service-oriented group, formed in 2015, gives out no-strings-attached grants to help community organizations with anything from special programs to utility costs to building improvements.

In four years, the group has given out more than $216,000. And with a focus on bringing more members on board, 100+ Women Who Care has the opportunity to make seismic impacts among local nonprofits.

“Individually, it’s hard to feel that you’re moving the dial with a tiny donation or a tiny donation of your own time. But with 100+ Women Who Care, seeing the $100 check go to a group right then and there, it does feel, even though your portion is small, there’s a lot of weight behind it,” said Emily Duckworth, who joined the group last year.

100+ Women Who Care is part of a national effort allowing individual communities to help the nonprofits affecting change in their own cities and towns. The first chapter was formed in Michigan, and since then, branches have spread throughout the U.S., Canada and beyond.

The concept includes women-only and men-only clubs, co-ed chapters and clubs for children. More than 650 chapters have been founded, including 13 100+ Women Who Care chapters in Indiana.

When the idea to establish a Johnson County chapter came up in 2015, a group of local leaders gathered for a luncheon to explain the process and provide information to people.

Women who join are asked to pledge $500 during the course of the year. The first $100 of that will go to a fund set up at the Johnson County Community Foundation, which will eventually be endowed to let the group tackle larger projects or donations as the chapter decides.

The remaining $400 is split up, with $100 contributed by each member to distribute to a local charity that provides services or programs for the good of Johnson County. The recipient of the grant is determined by a special vote at meetings every three months.

Each woman is allowed to nominate an organization to receive the money. Three organization names are chosen at random. Whoever nominated that agency is asked to give a five-minute speech about why they should get the money.

After all three advocates have spoken, it’s up to a winner-take-all vote.

The efficiency of the process is what appealed to Lynn Gray, one of the charter members of the group.

“It’s pretty neat to be able to say, in one hour, we can give away $10,000,” she said. “We can immediately help some organization. It seems like every organization we help has some immediate need, and it’s done right there.”

Gray was involved in other service work throughout the community. But 100+ Women Who Care brought together a diverse group that united the philanthropic spirit of organizations all over the county.

Plus, because members could nominate any local nonprofit organization to receive a grant, it allowed them to focus on some of the county’s less visible groups.

“I could see how we could have an immediate impact and maybe help some of those smaller 501(c)3 organizations that maybe don’t have the ability to have full-time staff and write grants and have matching funds,” Gray said.

In February, the organization voted to award a grant to Access Johnson County. The public transportation organization provides free rides for residents all over the county, a service that impacts thousands of people every year.

Access Johnson County wanted to create an app that would allow passengers to see where the buses were. Doing so would help make the pickup and drop-off schedule more efficient, said Becky Allen, transportation director for Access Johnson County.

As a subset of Gateway Services, Access Johnson County isn’t always able to get grants on its own. Being recognized by 100+ Women Who Care was affirming, Allen said.

“It made us feel good that we were good enough to be chosen,” she said. “For them to vote for us was a big deal. All of the causes are worthy, so it made us feel good.”

Being able to support a wide variety of causes was part of the appeal for Duckworth. She joined 100+ Women Who Care after one of her friends, another member of the group, invited her to attend one of the meetings as a guest.

Immediately, Duckworth was struck by the group’s joint power to help the community.

“I didn’t know there was a group of women in the community doing more philanthropy work as a collective. I was very interested in that,” she said.

She joined in December, and her first meeting was in February. Part of what has made the experience enjoyable so far is she only has to dedicate one hour each couple of months to the philanthropy, but that one hour makes an immense difference to groups around the county.

“I liked the fact that they were respectful of time, personal commitments and family commitments. You’re in and out,” she said. “For me, that fit the mold. I wanted to be involved in the community, but I didn’t want it to take up every Saturday for months.

The organization has held one in-person meeting in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, which forced its May vote to be done virtually. They are preparing to resume in-person gatherings Aug. 6, though proxy options for voting will still be available.

Members hope to continue to grow the group, said Nicol Spradlin, chair of the organization’s steering committee. A charter member of the organization, she has seen 100+ Women Who Care grow from fewer than 50 members to its current roster of 139 women.

The unique structure of the group has made it easier to attract new members, she said.

“I fell in love from the very beginning. At the time, I had three kids in school. I didn’t have enough time to volunteer, but I could go to these meetings, still be home to cook dinner for my kids and feel like I did something for the community,” she said. “It was a great way to get involved.”

At the beginning of the year, Spradlin challenged the group to reach 200 members. That way, the organization could distribute $20,000 grants each quarter. Though the pandemic has hampered those efforts, the goal is still attainable, she said. So emphasis has been placed on getting more people to participate.

“The more people who join and are members, the more money we give away each quarter,” she said. “You don’t have to be invited, and there can be more than 100 women involved. There can be as many people as we can get.”

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100+ Women Who Care

Third quarter meeting

When: Aug. 6. Social gathering starts at 4:45 p.m., meeting from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Where: Garment Factory Events,101 E. Wayne Street, Franklin

Cost: $12 per person, payable at the door, includes snacks. Cash bar. Members need to bring their $100 check for the evening’s grantee award.

RSVP and questions: [email protected]

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What: A group of local women participating in a giving circle to donate money to support a variety of charitable causes that directly impact Johnson County residents.

Who: Open to any woman who is interested in making a difference by making a financial commitment to support Johnson County charities.

Commitment: Members make a $100 contribution to the organization’s endowment fund and agree to write a $100 check each quarter to a charity that is selected by a majority vote of members at their quarterly meeting. The total annual commitment is $500.

How to join: Membership forms are available at jccf.org/100-women or email [email protected]

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