100+ People Who Care – Grinnell, a local organization dedicated to funding local non-profit and charitable organizations, voted to donate $11,100 to the Grinnell Community Daycare and Preschool at a meeting on October 23.
Every three months, the group holds a gathering where members have the chance to nominate organizations and causes to which they want to donate money.
“At every meeting, we ask members to nominate organizations in the Grinnell area. They fill out a nomination form … [and] the night of the meeting we [randomly] draw three… The [nominators of the] three who are drawn [give] a five-minute presentation about their cause or organization,” Donna Ricks, one of the co-founders of 100+ People Who Care – Grinnell, said. “Then, we have a question and answer period, we vote, and whoever gets the most votes is the winner.”
The $11,100 raised on October 23 resulted from donations of $100 from each of its 111 members.
“At the end of the meeting, after we vote, every member writes a check, and we collect the checks. Every check goes directly to the [selected] organization. We don’t take anything,” Ricks said, noting the importance of the fact that the group exists only as a medium for people to collectively donate to an organization, which is why it does not collect any dues or fees.
This quarter, members voted from a list of five organizations to send their donations to the Grinnell Community Daycare and Preschool. Past organizations that have received funding from 100+ People Who Care – Grinnell include the Social Entrepreneur of Grinnell, Imagine Grinnell, and the Grinnell Area Mental Health Consortium.
“People are always excited [to donate], even if it’s the one they didn’t vote for. They’re just so pleased that we’re funding something important in our community,” Ricks said. “The ones that aren’t chosen can also be nominated the next time, and they frequently are.”
100+ People Who Care – Grinnell is a local chapter of the larger 100+ Who Care Alliance, which has more than 600 chapters all over the world. The alliance offers local chapter leaders a way to connect with and learn from other chapter leaders.
The Grinnell chapter was started nearly two years ago by Ricks and her husband Al, along with Dennis and Christine Day, after learning about other chapters of 100+ Who Care in Iowa. Since then, the chapter has experienced a speedy growth compared to other chapters in similar sized towns. During the October 23 meeting, along with the usual process of nominating and voting, the group also celebrated surpassing one of its primary goals — having over 100 members.
“It’s been fun to watch it grow. The first time it was about $5,700, because we had 57 members, and now it’s doubled” Ricks said.
Ricks admires the enthusiasm she sees in the community coming together and creating a group that supports local organizations, and she hopes that the group will reach 150 members before next quarter’s meeting in January.
