Impact100 South Jersey Announces Fall Membership Drive and the first wave of virtual fall Info Sessions.
Impact100 South Jersey, a women’s collective giving group, is holding virtual information sessions now through November to build its membership and grant-making pool for 2021. The group is made up of volunteers who contribute equally to a fund that is used to make transformative grants to small and mid-sized nonprofits that serve Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Cumberland Counties. The goal is to recruit 200 members which would allow for $200,000 in grant awards in the spring.
Since launching in 2017, Impact100 South Jersey has awarded more than $424,000 in grants to nine nonprofits. The grants support the growth of organizations that are addressing various needs throughout our community. Each member is required to make a $1,000 contribution – 100% of which is used to fund grants. (An additional $150 is required to help cover the operating expenses.)
Previous Impact100 South Jersey grantees include LUCY Outreach in Camden, which empowers low-income young people (ages 7-25) to form healthy relationships, make good choices and develop into compassionate, socially responsible adults. LUCY will use the $100,000 grant they were awarded in June to become a trauma-informed agency through extensive training that will integrate trauma-informed principles and practices into the entire organizational culture.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland and Salem Counties, which received a $100,000 grant in June of 2019 has used it to purchase new technology that makes it possible for “Bigs” to mentor “Littles” virtually – cutting down on travel time and increasing opportunities for meaningful engagement. Their new Mentor 2.0 program became even more critical this year when the pandemic made it impossible for “Bigs” and “Littles” to meet in person.
In addition, Alice Paul Institute in Mt. Laurel and Family Promise of Southwestern NJ in Glassboro were each awarded $43,000 general operating grants in 2020. Impact100 SJ also awarded $7,500 to Cathedral Kitchen and $1,860 to the South Jersey COVID-19 Response Fund this year. Other 2019 grantees include Hispanic Family Center of Southern NJ and Ronald McDonald House in Camden. Each received $27,500 general operating grants. The very first Impact100 SJ grant for $74,000 was awarded in 2018 to Hopeworks ‘N Camden to support the organization’s transition to a new, larger office space where they now help more young people gain marketable tech skills.
Impact100 South Jersey is proof that you don’t have to be extremely wealthy to engage in meaningful philanthropy. Theirs is a very empowering initiative that generates new funding for South Jersey-focused nonprofits and allows their members to give back beyond what they could do by themselves.
Impact100 will hold virtual membership information sessions throughout November. The schedule for sessions is available at impact100sj.org. The deadline for 2021 membership is December 1st.
For more information, email info@impact100sj.org or call membership co-chair Angela Venti at 856-685-6728.
Nonprofits seeking information about funding should visit Impact100sj.org.