Last week,I had the privilege of attending the announcement event of the Pensacola Bay Area Impact 100. What started nine years ago as casual discussion at a party has grown to 728 members. With each member giving $1000 and there being no paid staff, Impact will hand out this fall seven grants of $104,000 each.
Recently I toured the AMIKids charter school. That school is open because of an Impact 100 grant that helped the school replace its buses. Dr. Tyler Hardemann, who is part of the school’s faculty, praised the organization for its help. “Without the buses, we could not have stayed open,” Hardemann told me.
The goal of Impact 100 has been to set an example for philanthropy. Since 2004, these women have given $3.815 million to area charities. Their goal for next year, their 10th anniversary, is have 1000 members and to give $1,000,000 in grants.
When these women set a goal, they achieve it.