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Women write $100 checks for local nonprofits

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — If you know someone who deserves financial help, one group is giving them a shot at collecting $10,000 in one hour. 

The group is called 100 Women Who Care and it’s in cities around the world.

Members meet on a quarterly basis and have to commit to donating $100 each time. They also nominate local charities. Three charities are then randomly drawn and the nominees have to convince the other members why their nonprofit organization should get the quarterly donation. 

The organization that receives the donation must give an update to the group and show them how they’ve used the funds. 100 Women Who Care also works with a philanthropy coordinator who does the proper research to confirm the group is a registered charitable organization.

“If you have a super busy schedule and you work a lot of hours it’s an efficient way to—it feels good to be able to donate to local nonprofits and reach a wide variety of them, too,” said Stacy Dalgarno, the founder of the Longview/Kelso chapter which has 160 members. 

The Portland chapter is going on its sixth year and has donated $104,000 to about 18 different charities, including Villages Northwest, Sparrows Club, David’s Harp, Love INC and, most recently, PHAME. The group presented a check in February to the arts and performance academy that serves adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  

“We’ve all been involved with fundraisers that take months of preparation and don’t raise that much money,” said Annemie Williams, the founder of the Portland chapter of 100 Women Who Care. “And this is a simple concept: we’re committed members, we write that check directly to the nonprofit, 100% of the money raised goes to the nonprofit.” 

100 Women Who Care would have presented their next check to a deserving nonprofit group but it was canceled due to the coronavirus. Williams told KOIN 6 News the group hopes to be back up and running by their next scheduled meeting: July 14.