Impact100 Sonoma announces 2024 grants plan
In 2024, women’s collective giving organization Impact100 Sonoma—one of Sonoma Valley’s largest funders—will again offer multiple Impetus Grants of up to $25,000 to nonprofit organizations. Last year’s total was a record $337,400 granted to 16 nonprofits serving Sonoma Valley.
Additionally, in honor of its 15th anniversary, the group will also issue a multi-year Encore Grant, which will give one 2024 Impetus Grant recipient a second grant of the same amount in early 2025.
“Valley nonprofits have told us that a known second year of funding can give them the flexibility to pursue mission-related proposals and long-term projects,” said Kathy Bloch, Grants Oversight co-chair. “It also can represent a ‘stamp of approval’ that makes it easier for them to secure grants from other funders.”
In addition to receiving a second consecutive year of funding, the Encore Grant recipient will have the option of selecting one woman from among its staff members, board members, or volunteers to receive a fully paid, two-year membership in Impact100 Sonoma. The membership may also be shared between two women, giving them both full member privileges, but with one grantmaking vote.
“The nonprofit and Impact100 Sonoma will both benefit from this new opportunity,” said Bloch. “We look forward to welcoming the diverse voices that Encore Partner members can bring to our organization.”
This will mark the fourth consecutive year hat Impact100 Sonoma will award multiple Impetus Grants of up to $25,000 to selected nonprofits.
In 2023, the group awarded a record $337,400 in Impetus Grants to 16 nonprofits serving Sonoma Valley. That strategy of disbursing funds widely, as opposed to offering fewer large grants, was initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now established as an ongoing format.
A grant recipient may use the money for programs, infrastructure, capital expenditures, or any purpose that supports or improves the organization or its mission.
“The Impetus Grant model has encouraged participation by a broader cross-section of applicants, including those that are newer or smaller,” said Dana Simpson-Stokes, Grants Oversight Co-Chair. “One third of our 2023 grant recipients, for example, received Impact100 Sonoma funding for the first time. Nearly half of our applicants requested grants of less than $25,000, and six of them received funding. Clearly, this approach is a good fit for our community.”
The 2024 grants strategy and Encore Grant were announced on Saturday afternoon, September 23, during the organization’s Annual Garden Party (above), which also launched its 15th-anniversary membership drive.
Every member makes a one-year, fully tax-deductible minimum donation of $1,000 toward grants. The more members, the more money is available to distribute.
Impetus Grant applications for 2024 will be available on the Impact100 Sonoma website (www.impact100sonoma.org) starting November 1, 2023. The application deadline is 8 p.m. PST on January 12, 2024.
To apply for the new Encore Grant, Impetus Grant applicants need only answer a few additional questions on the same form and provide a budget for the second year. The Encore Grant must build upon the same goals as the Impetus Grant proposal. In keeping with the organization’s alternating funding cycle, nonprofits that received Impetus Grants in 2023 will be ineligible to apply in 2024.
An optional Impetus Grant Information Session for interested nonprofits will take place via Zoom on November 9, 2023, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Members of Impact100 Sonoma Grants Oversight and Financial Review Committees will guide attendees through the 2024 application process and answer questions. All are welcome. Invitations are available by contacting [email protected].
Over the winter, Impact100 Sonoma member teams will evaluate applications, make site visits, and select finalists for presentation to and voting by the full membership in mid April. The 2024 Impetus Grants and Encore Grant will be announced at the Annual Awards Celebration on May 4.
