As it celebrates its 15th anniversary, women’s collective giving organization Impact100 Sonoma—one of the valley’s largest funders—will award a record $350,000 in grants to valley-serving nonprofits in 2024.
That amount will raise the group’s cumulative grant total since 2010 to $4,025,485.
For the fourth year in a row, Impact100 Sonoma will award multiple Impetus Grants of up to $25,000 to selected nonprofits. This strategy of disbursing funds widely, as opposed to offering fewer large grants, was initiated during the pandemic and is planned to continue long term. Grant recipients can use the money to sustain their current programs, expand or improve their offerings, or meet organizational needs that support their mission.
The group also will debut a multi-year Encore Grant, which will give one 2024 Impetus Grant recipient a second grant of the same amount in early 2025. 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.
“We’re pleased to offer a record amount of grant funding and to introduce our Encore Grant this year,” said Grants Oversight Co-Chairs Kathy Bloch and Dana Simpson-Stokes. “We look forward to learning how applicants propose building on their Impetus Grant with a second year of funding—and to welcoming the diverse voices that Encore Partner members can bring to our organization.”
Every Impact100 Sonoma member makes a one-year, fully tax-deductible minimum donation of $1,000 toward grants ($500 for a shared membership), and some donate additional funds. The more members, the more money is available to distribute. The group begins 2024 with 331 member philanthropists, including 75 new members, the largest class of new members since its founding year.
“In 2009,” said Impact100 Sonoma Co-Presidents Debbe Noto and Claudia Sims, “a small group of community-minded women came together with a shared philanthropic vision, built our volunteer-led organization from the ground up, and awarded initial grants in 2010. Since then we have tripled in size while adapting to trends in technology, philanthropy, and valley life. We stand on the shoulders of our pioneering founders as we continue to embrace change and invest in a sustainable nonprofit community that serves residents of all ages and needs.”
The new funding and membership totals were revealed Saturday morning, January 20, during the group’s Annual Members’ Meeting. The event was hosted and sponsored by the Sebastiani Theatre. The program included a panel discussion about the organization’s past, present, and future.
In February and March, Impact100 Sonoma member teams will evaluate this year’s grant applications, make site visits, and select finalists for presentation to and voting by the full membership in April. The 2024 Impetus Grants and Encore Grant will be announced on May 4 at the 15th Annual Grant Awards Celebration, which will take place at Hanna Center and be open to the public.
In 2023, Impact100 Sonoma awarded a record $337,400 to 16 valley nonprofits. Fourteen full Impetus Grants and two partial grants were awarded, the highest number of full grants given in a single year.
See the grantees from 2023
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