Photo by Lauren Allen.
Some nonprofits are all about long volunteer shifts, considerable time commitments and lengthy new membership processes.
100 Women of Lake Highlands does things a little differently.
The neighborhood nonprofit, started in 2016 by Crispin Deneault, is focused on making philanthropy accessible.
“Crispin started it because she was like ‘We have so much need in Lake Highlands, so let’s find a way to get people involved.’ Everyone works and has kids and everyone’s busy,” says neighborhood resident Stacie Bon, a current 100WLH board member. “So how do we keep it simple and still be able to give back. So that is the entire premise: simplicity.”
Eight years later, the organization has donated over half-a-million dollars.
The premise is simple. Neighborhood women, meeting three times a year, hear from area nonprofits, choose one, then each member writes the selected organization a check for $100. That’s it. A yearly total of $300 is the only requirement for members.
“I think moms and women in general are pulled in many different directions, and it’s hard to prioritize what a woman wants to do,” says former 100WLH President and current board member Amy Timmerman.
Technically, you don’t even have to go to the meetings.
“It is preferred that you attend the meetings, but I would say we want anybody to join who wants to make a positive impact in Lake Highlands,” Timmerman says.
For each meeting, 10 area nonprofits are invited to put the name of their organization in a raffle tumbler, with three being selected from the tumbler to pitch the group on why they deserve a donation.
“Those beneficiaries will know they’re on deck,” says Beth Rider, current 100WLH president. “We’ll call in order each one to come up, and they each get to speak for five minutes straight. We have a timer going — it’s very strict. And then once they’re done, they’ll all come up, and we open it up for 10 minutes of questions.”
Rider and Timmerman say that 100WLH’s roughly 186 members aren’t afraid to ask tough questions during Q&A. After each group has presented, the women vote on a beneficiary through a QR code on their phones.
Typically, the group looks for smaller area nonprofits who may not have the development resources that larger, national organizations have access to. “If it sounds like they can do it on their own, then they don’t really need our money,” Bon says.
In the past, recipients have included local families in need, nonprofits fighting food insecurity and PTAs.
“They’re really relying on the people of our community to support them,” Timmerman says.
They can recall a few memorable contributions, but for Rider and Timmerman, one donation stood out above the rest. When 8-year-old Julian Kampfschulte passed away after a battle with the neurodegenerative disease ALD, word of the family’s misfortune spread to a 100WLH meeting.
“Every single nonprofit that had put their name in the hat for that meeting withdrew so that the Kampfshulte family could receive the funds, and that was very moving to experience,” Timmerman says.
The family would go on to use the funds, around $22,000, to set up a scholarship in Julian’s name for a graduating Lake Highlands High School senior who attended White Rock Elementary.
“I mean, for me, Snuggle Julian was a wonderful gift back,” Rider says, “And then Forerunner. What they do is just amazing.”
Forerunner Mentoring is a local nonprofit that provides faith-based mentoring to fatherless youth K-12 in Lake Highlands. The group has received multiple donations from 100WLH, including the group’s first donation in 2016, and one recently that will help fund Forerunner’s after-school Thrive program for LHHS students.
“Oh, it changes lives, believe me; we don’t get a whole lot of grants,” says Steve Giddens, Forerunner’s director of development. “We’re primarily driven by private donations, but the grants we receive, we’re always grateful. They kind of enable us to do the things to help us grow.”
Giddens says the 100WLH donation of nearly $18,000 will allow Forerunner to expand its program further and offer more excursions like college visits and camping trips.
Timmerman and Rider say they believe Lake Highlands’ small-town sense of community plays a large role in shaping 100WLH’s fortunes.
“I think that’s the neatest thing about Lake Highlands is how close-knit it is and how easy it is to rally the troops,” Timmerman says.
“I can say, truthfully, that the women of Lake Highlands have very big hearts, and they enjoy giving back, so I think that organization will sustain just fine.”
