By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A new organization is forming in Hays to amplify members' giving power.
100 Who Care is a giving circle that asks 100 local residents to donate $100 each. The members of the group gather to hear from three local nonprofits and then vote on their preferred cause.
The cause that earns the most votes receives a collective $10,000 donation from the group.
"We use the tagline of 'The Power of 100,'" Brandy Ridgway, local organizer, said.
"If I were to give $100 to First Call for Help, they might be able to fill up a gas tank for their transient assistance program or maybe use that for a month of their loads of laundry program. But if me and 99 of my other friends give $100, that's $10,000," she said.
Members of the group then nominate three nonprofits to present at the next quarterly meeting of the 100 Who Care group.
Nonprofits that don't win a donation round can be nominated to present again for future donation rounds.
To qualify for donations, organizations have to be 501(c)3s or affiliated with a 501(c)3 non-profit.
"These are nonbudgeted dollars in the programs, which can make a big difference becuase this will be money that will not be used to just keep the lights on," Ridgway said. "This is money that can be used to advance a program or make a much bigger difference."
There are no qualifications to be a member of the group. You just have to agree to give $100 to the organization the group votes to support that quarter.
Payments are made directly to the selected nonprofit.
100 Who Care has about 350 chapters nationwide. The groups are 100% volunteer run. The chapters don't collect any money themselves. All the funds go directly to the nonprofits. Donations are tax deductible.
Most chapters meet and donate quarterly. Ridgway hopes to get the initial group to sign on for at least a year of giving.
She said she hopes to keep the meetings short—an hour or less.
Ridgway encountered a similar group in Great Bend.
"I said, 'I think this is fascitatic. I wish we could bring this to Hays,'" she said.
Barton County has 114 members and has given more than $250,000 since that group started seven years ago.
"Me, as an individual, I can give $100, but it doesn't stretch very far," she said. "It can have much more impact if me and 99 of my friends each give $100."
The organization started as 100 Women Who Care. It started with a woman who wanted to buy cribs for impoverished moms, but she could only give one crib. She didn't think that would make much of a difference.
There also now groups of 100 Men Who Care and 100 Teens Who Care.
The Ellis County group will be open to anyone. The nonprofits must provide services in Ellis County.
Ridgway is working with a Fort Hays State University Leadership 310 group to organize the group's first meeting. The group will eventually need a nominating committee of three or four people to help set up meetings.
The time commitment for volunteers is minimal, typically about an additional hour outside of the voting meetings every three months.
An informational meeting for the group will be at 6 p.m. April 15 in the meeting space at the Sternberg Museum in Hays.
Ridgway said she hopes to have the group's first voting meeting to award donations in July.
If you are interested in being a member of the 100 Who Care or are part of a nonprofit that would like to be considered for funding, Google forms can be found on the 100 Who Care - Ellis County, KS Facebook page.
Ridgway said hard copies of the forms are available on request.
You can also email Ridgway for more information at [email protected] or [email protected].