January 19, 2023
Exercise more, eat healthier, read a book a month … do these sound like New Year’s resolutions you have made? I often wonder how many resolutions are made and how many are kept. Personally, I fail to keep my resolutions because they are lofty goals or I honestly just get bored. While I have no data on this, I would venture to guess if you have some accountability for your goals, you are more likely to keep them. That makes sense, right? You have a goal, find others who share the same goal, and you come together to make that goal a reality.
A few years ago, the founding members of 100+ Women Who Care came together with a goal to get women involved in philanthropy in Grundy County, and here we are!
The 100+ Women Who Care of Grundy County was created in 2019 with the purpose of bringing women together to make a difference in our community. Women involved in this group commit to contributing $100 per gathering. The $100 can be made by an individual or a team of women, who will then act as one when voting. The 100+ Women gather quarterly to learn about three separate not-for-profits serving Grundy County. After learning about the organizations, a vote is taken leaving the winner of the vote with the pot of money collected from that gathering.
Although the 100+ Women Who Care of Grundy County has been in existence since 2019, because of the pandemic, 2020 and 2021 had some barriers we had to work with; however, we were still able to meet in a limited setting. Because of these limitations, we were unable to grow this group during that time so we began 2022 with the goal of growing this group and I am happy to say we were successful in doing so! The group doubled in size in 2022 with about 40 women engaged at each gathering!
Over the past two years, the 100+ Women Who Care of Grundy County have provided 12 grants to nonprofits who serve Grundy County totaling $37,135. As you can see from the list of grants below, the grant amount has increased as membership has increased.
- May 2019, Illinois Valley Industries $2,000
- September 2019, Hands of Dignity and Hope $2,600
- January 2020, Exibit Fine Art Center $2,900
- July 2020, grants to women-owned businesses $2,700
- October 2020, TaTa Trot $2,100
- January 2021, CASA of River Valley $2,000
- April 2021, Coal City Backpack Program $2,500
- July 2021, Habitat for Humanity $2,950
- October 2021, New Beginnings Thrift Store and Women’s Help Center $2,900
- April 2022, Grundy Area PADS $5,210
- July 2022, NAMI of Will-Grundy $4,700
- October 2022, Reclaimed Charity $4,575
From the above list, you will see there have been no duplicate grants provided. Because the groups want many organizations to benefit, early on, the members of 100+ Women Who Care made the decision that an organization that received a grant could not be nominated again for at least one year.
As we begin 2023, we want to continue growing which will in turn increase our impact on the local nonprofits. We welcome any community-minded women who want to make an impact in Grundy County to join this dynamic group. Not only will you be making a difference in Grundy County, but you will also have fun! Meetings occur in January, April, July and October and last about an hour. We do change the location of the meetings and, although we have been meeting during the lunch hour, that is also subject to change. For information on the 100+ Women Who Care visit our website at 100womenwhocaregrundy.com, find us on Facebook, or contact me at 815-941-0852. We hope to see you in 2023!