Photo above: Members of 100 Women Who Care Caledon received an update from Palgrave United Community Kitchen about how their donation was used.
Charities and nonprofits play huge roles in our communities. They improve our lives and fill gaps in the services we rely on. When we strengthen them, we strengthen the very fabric of our lives. Yet sometimes folks don’t realize they are there, or what they do, until they need them.
JustSayinCaledon.com is on a mission to raise awareness for the charities and nonprofits that are pivotal to the Caledon community. Our 11th story in this series features:
100 Women Who Care Caledon
At 100 Woman Who Care Caledon we spoke with Karen McDonald, co-founding member and chair
In a nutshell what does your organization do?
We are a group of local women who meet four times per year, for one hour, to raise money for local charities. It is a quick and easy way to have a maximum impact with our donation dollars, with a focus on the Caledon community.
Are there any particular programs you want to emphasize?
100 Women Who Care Caledon is set up in such a way that members know exactly where their donation goes and how it is used.
Each meeting, our members have the opportunity to nominate a charity that they would like to see the group support. To qualify, the charity must have programs that serve the Caledon community and be able to issue tax receipts. They must also agree to not use our donation for administrative costs, which means that 100% of our member’s donations go directly to a program that supports our community.
At our meetings, three charities present to the group, highlighting what their mission is and who they serve in the community. They inform the group how their donation would be used and how they would benefit from receiving the group’s donation. The group then votes and the charity with the most votes receives our donation. Our meetings are a great way to hear about different local charities and learn about programs they have available in Caledon. Charities that receive our donations attend the following meeting and give a short update on their work and how the group’s donation has been used.
Our next meeting is on November 28th. Anyone interested is welcome to come as a guest and see what we are all about.
What sort of challenges are the nonprofit sector and organizations like yours currently facing?
The challenge we face is spreading the word about who we are and what we do. Our aim is to continue growing our membership. The more members we have, the higher the impact we can have on a local charity.
What would you like the public to know about how they can help you?
The best way to help our group is to become a member. Members can join as an individual or as a team of up to four women. The more members we have, the more powerful our impact will be.
How can folks reach out to you?
Website: 100womenwhocarecaledon.com
Email: info@100womenwhocarecaledon.com
We can be found on Facebook and Instagram
