EDWARDSVILLE — A new women’s collective giving group named 100+ Women Who Care from the 618 has formed in our community. Their mission is to make a big impact with the local non-profit organizations serving communities in the 618 area code.
“We’ve formed a leadership team comprised of amazingly talented and charitable women,” says Denise Arendell, Founder and Co-Director of 100+ Women Who Care from the 618. “We’re following the example of other collective giving groups that paved the way. They’ve proven that a committed group of like-minded women can have a tremendous local impact. And they’ve proven it doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming. We are proud to be part of a new wave that is remaking philanthropy at the grassroots level.”
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Arendell, a financial advisor, and Co-Director Sarah Rankin, a community college professor, describe how this giving concept acknowledges the busy lifestyle of women today. “I’ve heard from so many women that they want to do something and be involved in some way in giving back to their community, yet their time is limited,” Rankin explains. “With 100+ Women Who Care from the 618, we now have a simple mechanism to make a huge impact, but it requires very little in terms of time and dollar commitment.”
“Simple and efficient are essential components of the 100+ Women Who Care concept,” according to Arendell. “The women become members by committing $100 and one hour of their time four times a year. The members meet quarterly for one hour to learn about local non-profit agencies doing the hard work in our communities. The members vote and the organization with the majority of votes receives our quarterly collective impact award. Members individually write checks for $100 directly to the organization to ensure 100% of the donations are given directly to the non-profit. We then repeat the process again next quarter. It’s a simple concept with a huge local impact.”
“Once the businesses in our community see the amazing work these 100+ women are doing, we anticipate their matching gifts will astronomically raise our quarterly impact awards. It’s happened in other areas across the country and we have some really special community focused people here,” says Arendell. The group plans to announce their inaugural meeting in the next few weeks and is open to all women interested in participating. You can find more information about the group on their Facebook page 100+ Women Who Care from the 618 or by emailing the group at wwcfrom618@gmail.com.
