Why Now is the Time to Join a Women’s Giving Circle
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‘Tis the season of giving back to the nonprofits doing incredible work in our community. Whether you regularly support an organization you love or you are searching for one that aligns with your values, this time of year naturally inspires gratitude and often a heartfelt donation or volunteer shift.
But for many of us, the momentum ends there. We move through the holidays and into a new year, and that generous gift – meaningful and important as it is – becomes a moment in time.
What if this year’s contribution could do more than mark the season? What if it could open the door to a deeper, ongoing connection with your community and introduce you to a network of women who share your passion for making a difference?
This giving season, consider joining 100 Women Strong – the only philanthropic organization in our region centered around female leadership, strategic grantmaking, and collective giving. Your annual membership contribution of $1,100 is a charitable donation that not only supports local women and children but also sets you up in the new year for so much more.
First things first: Contribution Information – Where Does It Go?
Your contribution to our women’s giving circle is a charitable donation and goes directly to our annual grant fund, which is distributed each year to an organization supporting women and children. The organization is determined by our Research and Grants Committee (which is always welcoming new members!) and voted on by membership.
Because we’re an initiative of Central Florida Foundation (CFF) your contribution is tax-deductible and can be made in a variety of ways – cash, check, credit card (3% fee applied), a donor-advised fund, publicly traded securities, or, if you meet the qualifications, via a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA.
100 Women Strong being a part of CFF also offers you peace of mind: CFF has been around for over 30 years, has stewarded the philanthropic dollars of hundreds of individuals, and is a trusted community leader across public, private and public sectors. Learn more about CFF here.
Membership Commitment: Lean In and Lean Out as Needed
Membership looks different for everyone. Some people are in a time in their lives where they are just dipping their toe into the proverbial water. They are testing out how they want their philanthropy to look and feel. They’re ready to become members but not quite ready to join a 100 Women Strong committee. We love these members and encourage them to explore with us. You’re invited to all our events but your attendance is never, ever required.
Then, we have members who are all in. They join a committee, attend events, and network with other members. We love them too – they are the volunteer leaders that make our organization work so well.
Melissa Farrell, Chair Elect 2025-2026, and Kim Nguyen Gray, Chair 2025-2026, welcome guests to our annual Member and Friends Sizzler.
We also have members who simply want to give to our grant fund but aren’t interested in the networking and events. That’s okay – and yes, we love these members too! They know that their philanthropic dollars are going to an organization that has been researched, vetted, and will create meaningful change for women and children in Central Florida.
How members engage also shifts and changes often. As women, each year can look different with changing demands. You can choose to lean in and lean out – in fact, we encourage it! We want our members to feel empowered by their membership, not stressed out.
Are you sensing a theme? We love our members, no matter how much you lean in or lean out each year. Give your time as you can.
Our Membership Community: Why Become a Member?
Being a member provides consistent opportunities for networking and learning. We offer a variety of educational opportunities through our Research and Grants team, including an annual Meet the Experts virtual meeting focused on our current issue area. Because we’re an initiative of Central Florida Foundation, we also host personal philanthropic educational opportunities with the CFF’s experts. These opportunities are perfect if you’d like to learn more about giving strategies and vehicles to empower your own giving beyond 100 Women Strong.
For those interested in building a solid network of engaged, philanthropic women, we’ve got you covered. Not only do we host three signature events a year and monthly breakfasts, open to both members and friends, but we also host multiple members-only events.
Arlene Blake, the Executive Director of our 2024 grantee, Women on the Rise International, Inc., shares about its career development pilot at our annual Grant Celebration, one of our three signature events.
These members-only events focus on small group settings so we can really get to know each other and talk about meaningful topics. These might look like dinners out in your area (we try to host all over the region!) happy hours, coffee meet ups and more.
Bottom line is, when you join our giving circle, you become part of a supportive community of women who really want to learn and give back – we’re literally 100 local women strong right now!
The 100 Women Strong Difference
You might have noticed that we often say “strategic” women’s giving circle. That’s because we use venture philanthropy strategies when it comes to how we invest our annual grant back into the community.
Venture philanthropy focuses on piloting, scaling, accelerating, or filling gaps. We look at new models, new programming, and innovative approaches to solving root-cause issues. This involves risk; however, our decision-making process involves hundreds of hours of research by our Research and Grants team to ensure that our grant proposal is data-backed with due diligence performed by CFF’s professional staff.
Then, we have members who are all in. They join a committee, attend events, and network with other members. We love them too – they are the volunteer leaders that make our organization work so well.
Allie Yadav, Research and Grants Chair 2025-2026, shares data from her committee’s research findings on maternal health disparities, the grant focus for 2026.
The results? We end up funding critical programs that offer sustainable, systems-level solutions right here in our community. We look past the symptom and ask: What is causing that symptom? Our proven grantmaking process developed with CFF has shown incredible results across a variety of issue areas affecting local women and children.
The Takeaway – This is a Charitable Contribution with Strategy
Your contribution to 100 Women Strong can be your give back to the community while also setting the stage for a year of impact and growth for you. We’ve invested over a million dollars into our community, supporting causes such as SIDs reduction, career development for women at risk of the fiscal benefits cliff, teen suicide prevention, and more. Simultaneously, we’ve grown and advocated for women to feel empowered in their philanthropy and their ability to truly make positive change right in their own community.
We encourage you to learn more about our organization, read about our past grants, and join us at an upcoming event.
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Tags: 100 women strong, giving circle, initiative, venture philanthropy, women and children, women's giving circle