IMPACT100 NORTHWEST FLORIDA NEWSLETTER | February 2024 |
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President's Message – Enrollment Season is Here! |
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| Dear Members,
By the time you’re reading this, you should have received a letter in your mailbox with information about the year ahead, renewals and ways all of you can help make Impact100 NWF a success in 2024. That may look a little different for each of us and that is one of the beautiful things about the Impact100 model. If you have not received a letter or feel there may have been an error, please let us know. |
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As our membership enrollment period is in full swing until our membership deadline of April 30th, I am relying heavily on our Membership Committee: Georgia Henderson, Membership Committee Chair; Melanie Adams, Events Chair and Carrie Brewer, Community Engagement Chair. Even though each of these ladies have full time jobs, families and volunteer with other organizations, they’ve been hard at work along with our Vice President and Assistant Treasurer, Tara Pierce getting renewal invoices ready, stuffing envelopes, looking for sponsors and planning all of the events in the year ahead.
If you have any questions about membership events/membership engagement or volunteering with their committee, reach out to them via email: membership@impactnwf.com. If you have any questions about member dues and payments, reach out to Tara via email: finance@impactnwf.org.
I hope to see you at our Membership Enrollment Event on February 20th at the Emerald Coast Science Center in Fort Walton Beach. Come and see what they’ve done with their 2017 grant funds as well as hear about their project status from their 2023 grant. It’s awesome to actually see what your member dollars are doing in our community! Please consider inviting a friend to join you. Please register!
You also will want to mark your calendar for 5:30pm on Monday, March 4th. Our Membership Enrollment Event will be at 3rd Planet in Niceville and we are hoping to have an Impact100 “Car Show” of our very own. We thought our members would love to see some of the vehicles that have been purchased with grant funds. More on that in mid-February. Registration for that event is open now.
Remember, our membership goal is 500+ members by so that we can fund a grant in each of our Focus Areas. Through our membership each year, we are empowering women as philanthropists and transforming our community $100,000 at a time. Let’s make 2024 our best year ever!
Fondly,
Joni Wallace
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
--Jane Goodall
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NEXT UP – Emerald Coast Science Center |
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| Our next Enrollment Event is coming up February 20th at the Emerald Coast Science Center in Fort Walton Beach. In addition to gatherings at local restaurants, we are looking to host some events this year on the premises of nonprofits that have been awarded grants in the past.
Executive Director Diane Fraser will be on hand to tell us all about the great work they do at ECSC, and their mission to inspire and grow a scientifically-engaged community. We will also have beverages and light bites, and you can try your hand at some of the interactive exhibits. We hope you will join us & bring a friend! |
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But even if you don't have a guest this time, we hope that you will attend to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and hear more about the great work we are doing at Impact100 NWF to support the hardworking nonprofits that serve our area!
Register today! And please don't wait to JOIN or RENEW your membership for 2024.
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Crestview "Pop-up" Gathering Set for Leap Day |
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We're hosting a "pop-up" coffee and information session at Casbah Coffee Co. in Crestview, on Thursday, February 29 from 9:30 - 11am.
Current members, prospective members, non-profit representatives, and interested business and community partners are invited to stop by, enjoy a complimentary pastry, and find out more about local philanthropy through Impact100 Northwest Florida. No RSVP is necessary.
Casbah Coffee Co. 196 W Pine Avenue Crestview, FL 32536 |
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Thanks to All Who Came Out to Restaurant 790 |
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Thanks to all who joined us on a chilly night at our first Membership Enrollment Event of 2024!
Special thanks to 790 Restaurant for hosting us, and to Sharing and Caring Executive Director Ken Winzeler for sharing his story with us. Now's the time to throw your hat into the ring to support the hardworking nonprofits of Okaloosa and Walton Counties with $100K grants through the power of collective giving! You can JOIN or RENEW your membership online!
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Help Us Spread the Word on Enrollment Events! |
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| Please help us "get the word out" to your friends about our upcoming Enrollment Events. The more members who join, the more grants we can award – and the nonprofits in Okaloosa and Walton Counties are in need of every dollar. Please take a screen shot of this image (or download it) and share it with your friends.
We would love to get back to having over 500 members and we can do that with your help! Invite someone you know to join us at one of these upcoming events to hear more about our mission and also from nonprofits who have previously received an Impact100 grant. Our membership enrollment is open through April 30th, 2024.
And remember – you can JOIN or RENEW your membership today!
If you have any questions please email our Membership Committee. We're here to help. |
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Grant Recipient Update – Crestview Area Shelter for the Homeless |
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On January 17th one of our 2022 Grant Recipients, Crestview Area Shelter for the Homeless (C.A.S.H.), notified us in writing that they would be unable to use their grant. Through no fault of their own, C.A.S.H. had a separate external commitment fall through that ultimately rendered their project no longer viable. Since no funds had been dispersed for the project yet, this gives us an opportunity to fund an additional grant for the 2024 season.
If you have questions, please reach out to Joni Wallace at 850-830-0064. |
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February is Prime Time for Grant Workshops! |
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Please help us reach out to our local nonprofit community!
The Grants Committee has two workshops set for February - in Destin and DeFuniak Springs - and the Niceville workshop is just around the corner on March 1.
The goal of these workshops is to connect with the nonprofit organizations that serve our community and bring them up to speed on our grants process.
They are a great way for representatives from the nonprofits to take a deep dive into what’s involved in applying for an Impact100 Northwest Florida grant. |
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Topics Covered: - Key 2024 Dates
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The Application Process
- Eligibility For Organization and Project
- What Impact100NWF is looking for in Sustainability and Viability
- What a highly “impactful” project looks like
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Also, many thanks to all who attended our first workshop at the South Walton Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Santa Rosa Beach, and to Executive Director Teresa Jones for hosting us and sharing her insights. Her organization received an Impact100 NWF grant in 2016.
We hope that by holding these workshops in different locations across Okaloosa and Walton Counties we can connect with a wide range of nonprofits, including some that have not applied for an Impact100 grant before. Each workshop will cover the same topics, so there is no need to attend more than one. We are finding the "small group" format is particularly good for fostering dialog - so please bring your questions!
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Members are also most welcome to attend and observe a workshop to learn more about the initial stages of our grants process. The financial support of nonprofits in our area is the heart and soul of our organization. These workshops are where it all starts.
Registration for all the workshops is open now. |
Please mark these Membership Enrollment Events on your calendar! In addition to gatherings at local restaurants, we are looking to host some events on the premises of nonprofits that have received grants in previous years. It will be great to see what they have going on! February 20 – Emerald Coast Science Center, 5:30 - 7pm, Fort Walton Beach (register)
February 29 – Casbah Coffee Co. "Pop-up," 9:30 - 11:00am, Crestview (no registration necessary)
March 4 – 3rd Planet Brewing, 5:30 - 7pm, Niceville (register)
April 11 – Hammock Bay Clubhouse, 5:30 - 7pm, Freeport (register)
April 25 – Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, 5:30 - 7pm, Destin (register)
Watch for other Pop-Up events as well. If you would like to host something in your neighborhood/community, please reach out to us at impactnwf@impactnwf.org. We can help with planning and organizing! Also - please reserve these key dates for our "Big Three" membership events later in the year. We will open registration for them once details firm up. May 16 - Member Number Reveal Party October 28 - Grant Finalist Reveal Party November 10 - Annual Meeting |
2024 Membership Enrollment Is Open Through April 30!
JOIN or RENEW Today! |
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Joni Wallace | President of Impact100 Northwest Florida |
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