100+ Women Who Care is an idea started by Karen Dunigan, one woman who saw a need in her community and knew that her network of friends could fulfill it. Inspired by her creativity, generosity, and passion, other women formed their own giving circles, including our Lake County, Ohio chapter. Each chapter functions independently and creates their own specific guidelines, but they all follow Karen’s vision – to create a group of generous women who commit to giving at least $100 each quarter to a charity the group selects together.

• There is no cost or membership fees to join our chapter. We do not collect or hold any money directly.
• To become a member, we ask that you complete a Commitment Form.
• By joining, you are committing to donating $100 per quarter for four quarters ($400 total). You can continue as long as you want.
• If you do not meet your commitment, you are “not in good standing.” (Members who are not in good standing cannot submit charities or participate in voting.)
• You do not have to attend meetings to continue your membership, although we hope that you do! You can mail a check or donate online and provide your receipt to stay in good standing.
• If you do not submit donations for more than four quarters, your membership will be made “inactive.”
• There are two types of membership: individual and two-person team.

• We meet quarterly on the first Monday every three months (generally March, June, September and December). There are some exceptions for holidays. Mentor Harbor Yachting Club. MHYC kindly donates the space, so there are no room rental fees. Members can purchase a light dinner after the meeting from the club.
• Each meeting lasts only one hour.
• At each meeting, we follow this agenda:
  • The previous quarter’s recipient of donations is invited to make a short presentation.
  • Three members advocate for a charitable cause for the membership to vote on. Each presentation is limited to five minutes followed by five minutes of Q&A.
  • Members in good standing vote.
  • The leadership team counts the votes and announces the winner.
  • Everyone writes a check (made out directly to the charity).
  • We leave knowing that a Lake County charity is going to gain a donation of about $7,000 for their cause.

• Organizations must be a registered 501(c)(3). (This is generally defined as “exemptions that apply to corporations, and any community chest, fund or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, educational purposes, to foster national or international amateur sports competition, promote the arts, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.”)
• Organizations must serve in Lake County. Donations benefiting national charities will not be considered unless there is a local group affiliation and the donation will ONLY benefit the greater Lake County area.
• Organizations must have been in existence for at least one year with a current 990 form.
• The organization must not have received funding from the Lake Count chapter within the last two years.

• Only members who are in good standing may submit a charity for voting.
• New members must complete the commitment form, attend at least one meeting, and participate in that meeting’s donations before submitting a charity.
• If your charity does not win, you may submit the same organization again up to three meetings in a row.
• Charities can be submitted for the next meeting at any time by sending Kathy Toderick an email with the name of the charitable cause.
• Three charities are selected for each meeting, along with the name of the submitting member, by random drawing. If the same charity is submitted by multiple people, the member associated with the selected submission will present.

• If your charitable organization is selected, you will be notified via email.
• You have exactly five minutes to present. We apologize in advance if we have to cut you off, but limiting presentation time allows us to keep our meetings to just one hour.
• We cannot accommodate multimedia presentations, slides, posters, or anything else that would require setup.
• Please come prepared with information about how checks should be made out.

• Only members who are in good standing may vote.
• Only in-person attendees will be allowed to vote.
• If you are eligible to vote, you’ll have a ballot in your name tag at the meeting.
• If you are part of a two-person team, you only get one vote
• The leadership team counts the votes during the meeting. All counts are final.

• We love checks! Bringing a paper check to the meetings and filling it out on the spot keeps us organized, gets the money to the charity faster, and means no processing fees for the charity.
• Feel free to send a blank (signed) check to the meetings with a friend! We ask that you bring a stamped self-addressed envelope with your check.
• If you cannot make it to the meeting in person, you can mail a check to the leadership team. The address will be provided via the meeting’s follow-up email.
• While your commitment is to give $100 to the winning charity, you’re always welcome to donate more than $100 or give to the non-winning submissions. No credit is given toward your membership standing for this, however.
• Your contribution is tax deductible since the selected organizations are 501(c)(3)s. Checks are written directly to them, not to 100+ Women Who Care. Please contact your tax advisor or visit the IRS website for more information.