VERO BEACH — More than 120 representatives from 61 non-profit organizations took advantage of a Grant Writing seminar at the Richardson Center, hosted by Indian River Impact 100 and sponsored by Wilmington Trust, the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Indian River Chapter, the Indian River Community Foundation, the Robert F. and Eleonora W. McCabe Foundation, the Richardson Family Foundation, Quail Valley Golf Club and the United Way of Indian River County.
Attendees were primarily non-profit CEOs, executive directors and development specialists, looking for a few pointers to give them the edge when applying for transformational grants. Transformational philanthropy focuses on large scale opportunities that may, in fact, transform a community.
Karen Osborne, Internationally acclaimed speaker and president of The Osborne Group led the workshop. Osborne has more than 30 years of fundraising, management and marketing experience and was formerly responsible for designing and implementing Trinity College’s successful $100 million campaign.
“She made an important subject clean, very doable and exciting,” said Wanda Lincoln, Impact 100 member. “She made you want to go out and fundraise.”
Impact 100 was founded in 2008 with the goal of having 100 women donate $1,000 each, thereby allowing the group to donate a transformational grant of $100,000 to a deserving non-profit organization. This being philanthropic community that it is, the group actually attracted 205 women which allowed them to make two grants of $102,500 each to the Treasure Coast Food Bank, for expansion of the “Backpack Buddies Program” and CASTLE, for purchase of a new Indian River Family Service Center.
Impact 100 Executive Committee members are Sherry Brown, Nancy Lynch, Laura McDermott, Susan Richardson Hopkins, Jennifer Malone and Sandy Rolf and the Grant Committee consists of Jane Coyle, Toni Hamner, Wanda Lincoln, Barbara Levere, Debb Robinson and Linda Knoll.
“We’ve made the procedure a little tighter and sooner than last year,” explained Nancy Lynch. “The annual meeting, where the finalists are presented to the membership, will be April 19th this year.”
Letters of intent must be received by November 10 and all completed grants are due by January 6 to allow the panel sufficient time for the review process. {igallery 65}
