Our History
Our Mission: To empower women to collectively fund transformational grants to nonprofits in Sarasota & Manatee Counties.
Impact100 SRQ History
The vision to start a Sarasota Chapter of Impact100 SRQ began in February 2017, when Founding President, Jane Watt was inspired by her mother and sister’s involvement in their Impact100 Pensacola Bay Area chapter. Jane shared her dream of starting a chapter in Sarasota and Manatee Counties with two of her close friends, Jodie Zerega and Tilly McFadden. Together, these three women built the infrastructure while enlisting the assistance of other amazing women in our community, and created an all-volunteer committed Board of Directors that enabled the Impact100 SRQ dream to become a reality. The Impact100 SRQ chapter began empowering a local and diverse group of women of all ages, stages in life, income levels and backgrounds to join together to annually fund transformational grants of no less than $100,000 to eligible nonprofits in Sarasota & Manatee Counties.
In 2019, Impact100 SRQ kicked off its inaugural giving year with 228 founding members and awarded two grants in the amount of $114,000 each. With over 60 chapters worldwide, Impact100 SRQ debuted as the 3rd largest start-up chapter ever!
In record time, Impact100 SRQ has ignited the passion of women to empower one another, solve problems in our community, and affect meaningful and sustainable change. Together, they discover how nonprofits are working to meet the unmet needs of the community.
2023 Grant Recipients:
Art Center Sarasota
Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc.
The Paul A. and Veronica H. Gross Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida
Legal Aid of Manasota, Inc.
Teen Court of Sarasota, Inc.
Easterseals Southwest Florida
Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the Suncoast
2022 Grant Recipients:
Florida West Coast Symphony dba Sarasota Orchestra
Booker Promise
Dreamers Academy
Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast
Senior Friendship Center
Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center
2021 Grant Recipients:
Girls Inc.
Crowley Museum and Nature Center
Hope Family Services
Resilient Retreat
2020 Grant Recipients:
Children’s Cancer Center
Mayor’s Feed the Hungry
Sky Family YMCA
2019 Grant Recipients:
Mother’s Helping Mothers
Selby Preschool at The Haven
Impact100 History
Impact100 was founded by Wendy Steele in 2001 in response to feeling as though women‘s roles in philanthropy needed a new way to be expanded and encouraged. Wendy launched the organization with the goal of empowering women to see themselves as activists through awarding large grants to make an impact within their communities.
By 2002, Impact100 received nonprofit status and donated its first grant of $123,000. In 2003, People Magazine published a story about Impact100, and Wendy‘s idea quickly began to spread.
Today, her model has been replicated in cities all over the world and only continues to grow.
Affiliations
The Impact100 Global Council encourages collaboration and sharing of best practices among Impact100 chapters to allow for continued growth and sustainability of Impact100 around the world. Impact100 SRQ has been a member of Council since 2018.
Together we will make a sustainable impact in our community one transformational grant at a time.
Impact100 Model
The Impact100 model is readily available to all communities who wish to implement it. The model is designed to empower women to see themselves as philanthropists and overcome the barriers women have historically faced in this arena. The model is designed for transformational grant-making within local communities, with a minimum grant size of $100,000.
At Least 100 Women
Come Together
Each Woman Donates
$1,000
At least $100,000 is donated
to a Local Charity
Focus Areas
This model provides nonprofit organizations with grants in increments of at least $100,000 across five main focus areas:
Arts, Culture & History
Education
Environment, Recreation & Animal Welfare
Family
Health & Wellness
How it Works
Impact100 SRQ seeks to benefit the communities of Sarasota & Manatee Counties by annually awarding at least one high-impact grant to fund innovative, meaningful projects. The concept is simple:
- The annual $1,000 donation from Impact100 SRQ members fund the grants. The number and size of grants given is dependent on the number of members. The goal is to give incremental grants of at least $100,000 each year to nonprofit organizations serving Sarasota & Manatee Counties.
- Membership is open to all women age 18 and over and is renewable annually.
- Nonprofits complete an eligibility form and then may receive an invitation to apply for a grant in one of five focus areas: Arts, Culture & History; Education; Environment, Recreation & Animal Welfare; Family; and Health & Wellness. The proposed initiative must predominantly serve the Sarasota or Manatee County communities.
- Members of Impact100 SRQ may choose to volunteer to serve on committees that evaluate the grant applications and select a finalist or finalists in each area.
- Finalists are chosen and a representative of each of the finalists gives a brief presentation of their organization's initiative proposal at the annual meeting of Impact100 SRQ. The entire membership of Impact100 SRQ votes to select the grant recipient(s).
- Recipient organizations are given 24 months to complete their projects. Funds are disbursed as programs are implemented.