Four times each year, 100 women gather together from across the southern Puget sound area. Every attendee drops their name in a hat on the way into the room. Four names are randomly drawn and those four women give short presentations about the nonprofit of their choice. After a question and answer session, the group votes and selects one nonprofit that the group will support. At the end, everyone in the room writes the chosen organization’s name on a $100 check, resulting in a large, collective donation to a single organization.
The South Sound 100 Women selected Nourish as their nonprofit to support for the first quarter of 2019.
“This is meant to be about the power of collective giving in our community.” Stacey Guadnola says. She helped to get the group started here in Tacoma based on models from other cities. The premise of the group is that individual small gifts can be joined together to make a significant, collective impact for one organization at a time.
Each individual selects the nonprofit that they want to present to the group. This is a benefit for organizations even if they are not selected as the recipient. Every attendee leaves knowing more about four new organizations who are making a positive change in the community.
Megan Leifson, a member of Nourish’s board of directors, had her name drawn at the January meeting. Megan says, “I selected Nourish as my charity because it is an organization that I believe in – as a member of the community and as a board member. I have dedicated my career to food and making sure that everyone has access to nutritious food.”
The collective $10,700 donation to Nourish will have an incredible impact.
“Food does not just appear on our shelves.” Sue Potter, Nourish’s Executive Director, says. “These types of gifts are so important because they help us keep the lights on, gas in the trucks, and our refrigerators cold so we can safely get food into the hands of those who need it in Pierce County. We are grateful that this group of women selected us.”
South Sound 100 Women is always looking for more attendees who want to join. Visit their website for more information.
To make a donation to Nourish on your own, visit our Donate page.