100 Women group to host October meeting

The group aims to have 100 women donate $100 each to a local nonprofit every quarter.

By Ray Miller-Still • September 29, 2020 8:44 am
100+ Women Who Care donated $6,000 to the Covington-based Footprints of Fight organization, which offers free services and support like house cleaning, grocery and gas cards to Washington families affected by pediatric cancer. Photo courtesy 100+ Women Who Care
100+ Women Who Care donated $6,000 to the Covington-based Footprints of Fight organization, which offers free services and support like house cleaning, grocery and gas cards to Washington families affected by pediatric cancer. Photo courtesy 100+ Women Who Care

As the old saying goes, there’s strength in numbers.

That’s the kind of power the 100+ Women Who Care Foothills grassroots organization wants to harness — the group aims to bring 100 women together every quarter to donate $100 each to a particular nonprofit for a grand total of a $10,000 donation.

Nikki Westover, a co-leader of the group, said this model is a far more effective way for nonprofits to solicit for donations than holding an expensive fundraising dinner or other sort of event.

This quarter’s meeting — like every get-together now, it seems — is expected to be held over Zoom on Monday, Oct. 12, starting at 7 p.m. (a final decision will be made Oct. 5, with the possibility of an in-person meeting to be held at the Black Diamond Community Center). If the Oct. 12 meeting is being held over Zoom, you can email 100womenwhocarefoothills@gmail.com for the meeting ID and password information.

The non-profits presenting at this meeting include Elk Run Farm, a Maple Valley fresh fruit and vegetable grow operation that supplies fresh produce to food banks; Felomena’s Grace, a Renton-based organization that focuses on providing education funds to children who have lost one or both of their parents; and Behind the Badge, a Redmond-based nonprofit that serves local law enforcement and their families with counseling, financial planning, legal council, and other additional services.

The local 100+ Women group celebrated its one year anniversary last July, and has grown from 29 members to 74. It has donated a total of $24,500 to various local non-profits, including the Ravensdale-based Bicycle Rescue for Youth, Nexus Youth and Families, the Covington-based Footprints of Fight, and the Maple Valley-based IDEA (interactive disability education awareness) Project.

THE PROCESS

Joining 100+ Women Who Care is easy — just head to their website, www.100womenwhocarefoothills.com, and pledge to donate $100 every quarter to a charity chosen by the group.

Once you’re a member, you can then nominate which charities present their cause to the organization; charities must be local to the Maple Valley-Black Diamond-Enumclaw area, be a registered non-profit, and have been established for at least one year.

Three nominated non-profits are then picked randomly to present their case for why they should be chosen for the donation pot. After the presentations, 100+ Women members vote on which charity should receive the group’s donation.

Meetings last approximately 90 minutes.