About 100 Women Who Care

The Concept

It’s simple: 100 women each contribute $100 four times a year. Our community is $40,000 richer at year end.

How It Works

• Each member commits to donating $100 per meeting, four times a year.
• Meetings are conducted in one hour or less.
• Any member who wishes may nominate a charity.
• The nominating members of three randomly selected charities will make a short presentation about the charity.
• Each member in attendance votes (by ballot) for one of the three charities.
• Whether in attendance or not, each member donates $100 to the charity receiving the most votes.
• The selected charity will receive a group donation of $10,000 or more!
• Members who did not vote for the selected organization agree to make their donation regardless.
• Members will receive a tax receipt directly from the charity.
• Any member who is unable to attend a meeting is will be notified of the winning charity by email and will be expected to make their donation online, or by cheque.
• Charities under consideration must serve Rural Wellington and the surrounding area, and provide individual tax receipts directly to contributing members.
• A charity not chosen to receive our donation at one meeting is eligible for selection at a subsequent meeting.
• A successful charity is not eligible for future consideration for two years, but the nominating member may submit the name of another charity.
• The selected charity must agree not to use member information for further solicitation purposes or give it out to any third parties except for tax purposes.
• Each meeting will include a five-minute update on how the funds donated at the previous meeting were used by the successful charity.

History

The first 100 Women Who Care group was formed in November 2006 by Karen Dunigan of Jackson, Michigan, USA. At their first one-hour meeting, the Jackson 100 Women Who Care group raised $10,000 to buy 300 new baby cribs for an organization in their city! Their membership has now grown to nearly 300 members and other cities across the United States began forming groups.

The idea came to Canada when Toronto lawyer Jennifer Wootton Reagan picked up a book titled “Be the Miracle” by Regina Brett while waiting at the airport and fell in love with the concept. She formed the first Canadian Chapter of100 Women Who Care in Toronto in 2012, and there are now 104 other chapters across the country and counting!

Click here to read an article written by Brett when a 100 Women Who Care group was formed in Cleveland. The article explains the concept concisely.

Women all over North America have embraced this simple but powerful concept as a way to engage with their community and provide much needed assistance to the charities that can make a real difference to the people who live there. Many chapters have expanded to include 100 Men Who Care and 100 Kids Who Care.

The Rural Wellington chapter of 100 Women Who Care is organized by four women: Deborah Whale, Helen Edwards, Judy Dirksen and Kay Ayres.

Our inaugural meeting was held on Monday, September 17th , 2018, at the Palmerston Community Centre, 520 Craven Street Palmerston ON. Thanks to all of the women who came out to support this chapter and our first nominated charity: The Children’s Foundation of Guelph-Wellington.

Photo courtesy of Colin Burrowes

To become a member and contribute to this incredible project, click here.

Going forward, we continue doing everything we can to support our friends, neighbours and community, making a real difference in their lives, and our own, in rural and small town Wellington County, and surrounding area.