Impact100 East Bay Celebrates Anniversary With Grants

Pleasanton CA

09 October, 2021

10:38 AM

Description

Press release from Impact100 East Bay: Oct. 9, 2021 Impact100 East Bay. A unique philanthropic organization that empowers women to make transformative changes in East Bay communities, awarded grants of $100,000 to Oakland-based Aspire Education and $25,000 to Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center with programs in Richmond and East Contra Costa. Recipients were announced during a virtual event at Impact100 East Bay's Grant Celebration on September 29th. Impact100 East Bay is one of more than 60 chapters across the United States and beyond. The basic structure for each chapter is simple – 100 women each donate $1,000, forming a single $100,000 grant that is given yearly to a deserving nonprofit organization within their community. Women in each chapter review grant applications and collectively decide on recipients. Chapters with more members are able to fund considerably more grants. The East Bay chapter started five years ago with a membership of 55. This year's membership totaled 125, allowing Impact100 East Bay for the first time to award grants to two worthy nonprofits. Chapter leaders hope to grow their grantmaking power in the future by attracting more women who have a passion to make a difference in their communities. The goal is to grow to 300 members within 5 years. A more immediate goal is to have 150 members by the end of 2021. This year's recipient of the $100,000 Impact Grant, Aspire Education, was established in 2005. Since then, it has gathered a small community of educators and tutors whose expertise and emotional intelligence has empowered East Bay students with the skills to become independent, active learners. Aspire adds to its impact by inviting former students to be trained in leadership and communication skills with the goal of mentoring younger students in literacy through their flagship program Community Reading Buddies (CRB). The grant from Impact100 East Bay will triple the number of students served in this unique program from 400 (200 mentors and 200 young readers) to 1200 in 2022. Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center will use its $25,000 Community Grant to expand support of existing business owners seeking to rebuild their operations during and post COVID. They will also serve un-and under-employed persons seeking opportunities of entrepreneurship to rebuild their livelihoods through their center in Richmond (serving Contra Costa and Alameda Counties). Their clients are 89% lower income, 78% women and 78% people of color. Previous Impact100 East Bay grant recipients include: MISSSEY (Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting & Serving Sexually Exploited Youth), Opportunity Junction, CASA of Contra Costa County, and Covenant House in Oakland. "The impact we can have in our local communities is directly determined by the number of women who step up and get involved in this tremendous organization," said Carol Nitz, Impact100 East Bay chapter Board President. "And make no mistake – each and every woman who gets involved is enriched in countless ways." Impact100 had its beginnings in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2001 when Wendy Steele founded the first chapter after sensing that women's roles in philanthropy could be encouraged and expanded. Her model resonated with women of all ages and backgrounds, resulting in the formation of chapters nationwide. Since then, individual chapters have collectively granted more than $105 million to fund local nonprofits across five broad focus areas: Arts & Culture, Education, Family, Health & Wellness and Environment, Preservation & Recreation. "Today, so much of what we read, see and hear is distressing, but Impact100 is a place of hope and possibility," Steele said. "My hope is to celebrate and encourage these tremendous women to keep making a difference in their own backyards." For much more information on Impact100 East Bay visit our website at https://www.impact100eastbay.o... This press release was produced by Impact100 East Bay. The views expressed here are the author's own.