Women Transforming Sonoma County Through Collective Philanthropy - Feb/March 2018 
President's Message
Happy New Year!

With Women's History Month approaching in March, it seems like a great time to share the history of Impact 100. In 2001, with the vision that philanthropy should be a party with an open invitation for all to attend, Wendy Steele presented her idea to key women in her community.  As a result, the first Impact 100 group was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio.  
 
By 2003, the national media had learned about this creative philanthropy, and People magazine featured the organization and its founder. From there, the news spread and the Impact 100 model was replicated around the country. By the end of 2016, Impact 100 organizations had given away more than $45 MILLION to worthy charities.
 
Today, there are 52 Impact 100 chapters worldwide, with 9 more in development. We are proud to be mentoring one of those developing chapters - a group of young women who hope to launch Impact 100 East Bay in 2018.
 
In just 3 years, our Impact 100 Redwood Circle chapter -- #34 on the list -- has grown to more than 150 members, and we have given out $250,000 in grants. This year, we will award our $100,000 Impact Grant, as well as five Community Grants of $10,000 each. This is a significant increase over the $5,000 Community Grants we awarded our first two years!
 
As we kick off 2018, I want to thank all of our
mem bers, partners, Leadership Team and committee members. Thanks to your hard work, we are making an impact in our  community!
 
I hope to see you at one of our many upcoming events, including this Saturday's hike at Taylor Mountain.

Best wishes for 2018!

Melissa
Welcome to the newest members of our circle!
Jizell Albright,  Dana Davies, Karen Fass, 
Tina Ornell, Gayle Peterson, 
Sandra Rennie, Teri Simpson, Debra Young 
In This Issue
 Upcoming Events
Monthly  Hike    
Saturday, Feb. 10 
10:00 a.m. 
Kawana Springs entrance to Taylor Mountain 
RSVP:  Joan Tabb  
 
Coffee & Conversation 
Wednesday, Feb. 21
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Trail House
4036 Montgomery Drive, SR
RSVP: Click here 
 
Nonprofit Education
Workshop 
Fri, Feb. 23 and Sat, Feb. 24
The Volunteer Center 
153 Stony Circle, SR 
RSVP:  Click here  
 
Special Event:  The Power  
of Women 
Satur day, March 3
4:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Museums of Sonoma Cty
425 7th Street, Santa Rosa
RSVP: Click here 

A few important details about these upcoming events::
Understanding the Nonprofit Landscape at the Volunteer Center
Feb 23, 3:00-6:00pm OR  Feb 24, 9:00am-12:00noon
With more than 1,500 nonprofits in Sonoma County, the opportunity to make a true impact is available to us all.  Cami Kahl, Executive Director of the Volunteer Center, will provide us with a deeper knowledge of how nonprofits achieve their triple-bottom line.  Participants will leave with a better understanding of how they can make the biggest impact with their time and treasury.

NOTES:  Fee $35/member;  the same information will be presented at BOTH seminars

TO REGISTERREGISTER, please use the following Links: 
For Saturday, February 24:
The Power of Women at Museums of Sonoma County 
Saturday, March 3, 4:00-7:00pm
Barbara Borden 
This spring we are fortunate to have a unique opportunity to celebrate "The Power of Women" thanks to the generous sponsorship of member Diane Stuppin. On Saturday, March 3, 2018, we hope you can join Diane for an evening of artistry and creative expression at the Museums of Sonoma County, 425 Seventh Street in Santa Rosa.
 
Diane has designed the program to celebrate Women's History Month and the members of  Impact 100 RC. We will enjoy a catered reception and a performance by drummer Barbara Borden, the subject of the documentary "Keeper of the Beat" by three-time Emmy Award winner David L. Brown. Check out the documentary trailer at kobmovie.com

RSVP by 2/12 to [email protected] 
 
Community Grant Nominations due Feb. 14th! 
For the third year in a row, Impact 100 Redwood Circle has raised sufficient funds to disburse Community Grants. This year, we have $50,000 and will award five Community Grants of $10,000 each. This is a significant increase over the $5,000 grants we've awarded our first two years.
 
We are inviting you to nominate a deserving non-profit in Sonoma County (excluding the geographic area exclusively served by the Sonoma Valley Impact 100 Chapter). The strength of our grants depends upon your valuable input.
Request for Nominations for Community Grants went out via email on Jan. 31, including eligibility criteria and instructions on how to submit your nomination.  Nomination deadline is Wednesday, Feb.14, 5PM.  For the complete 2018 Community Grants timeline click here. 

Ina Chun & Mary Radu, Co-Chairs, Community Grant Committee 
2018 Impact Grant Cycle Launched 
The Impact Grant Committee will conduct their grant proposal evaluation and recommendation process over the next several months. In a nutshell, we will meet monthly (second Thursday of the month, 11:30-1:00) to conduct the grant process.  In addition, committee members will be busy reviewing and "scoring" the applications (outside of the monthly meeting time) and conducting site visits with the semi-finalists during the spring/summer. 

It all culminates with the committee making a recommendation of the "top three" proposals, which are then presented to the full membership for vote at our annual meeting in October.  Ballots are counted, and the $100,000 winner receives their check "on the spot" (it's quite an exciting and rewarding meeting!)
 
The Impact Grant Committee is still "open" if anyone is interesting in joining .  Participating on the grant committee is an excellent way to learn about our local non-profits, and it is rewarding and lots of fun to boot! 
 
Contact Co-Chairs Marianne Messer ([email protected]) or Suzy Marzalek ([email protected] ) for more information.
In Other News....
  • Food For Thought had a great 2017:
    15,000        Grocery orders filled! That's enough food for 315,042 meals!
     15,445    Bottles of vitamins and supplements distributed to clients.
    6,583    Grocery orders delivered to 282 homebound clients.
    4,919    Bowls of soup served at our community lunches.
       413     Amazing volunteers contributed 28,463 hours of work.
    8,000   Healthy meals delivered to firefighters, hospitals, and evacuation shelters in partnership with Backyard Restaurant during the fires.
    PLUS    A gazillion hugs given and received by grateful clients!
  • Chris Brokate, Clean River Alliance, received the Spirit of Sonoma County Award for his volunteer efforts hauling tons of trash out of the Russian River watershed.
Contact our Newsletter Editor:
If you have questions or suggestions for The Impact 100 Redwood Circle Communique, please contact Editor, Jan Houts at [email protected]