VERO BEACH — With an air of highly charged anticipation, Impact 100 members filtered into the Oak Harbor Clubhouse Thursday afternoon, eager to decide which four of the eight nonprofit finalists would each be receiving $100,000 transformational grants.
Now in its fifth year, membership once again outdid prior levels, with 429 women contributing $1,000 each – 100 percent of which would be granted to worthy nonprofit organizations.
When the votes were tallied, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Indian River County, Camp Haven, the Senior Resource Association, and Treasure Coast Community Health were awarded $100,000 grants.
The remaining four finalists, the Early Learning Coalition, Environmental Learning Center, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation and the Vero Beach Theater Guild didn’t leave empty handed – each received $7,250 grants.
With this year’s allotment, Impact 100 will have distributed a total of $1,631,000 to Indian River County nonprofits since its inception – the power of women at its very best.
“It really started with a vision,” said Jane Coyle, outgoing board president. “The visionary was Ellie McCabe. It was her vision to share her enthusiasm and philanthropy with other women.”
Indian River Impact 100 was founded as a philanthropic initiative to pool resources and gift significant, transformational grants. Their initial goal was to recruit 100 members who would each donate $1,000 and would have a say in determining which organization would receive the funding. But from the start, membership levels far exceeded that goal.
Before the finalists made their presentations, Coyle recognized Wilmington Trust for their continuing support and thanked all the Impact 100 members who volunteer their time serving on the board and various committees.
She reiterated how seriously they take their fiduciary responsibilities saying, “When you give us a $1,000 check, we do good things with it.”
The finalists had already gone through a thorough vetting process to ensure that if they were to be one of the lucky ones, the funded program would be transformational and sustainable, and within an organization strong enough to continue its administration.
Big Brothers Big Sisters will use the grant in a collaborative effort with Youth Guidance to pool resources and provide a broad range of mentor training, development and support for a wide variety of local mentoring agencies.
“Through mentoring, children in Indian River County don’t have to keep their current reality; they don’t have to end up in the legal system. You can see the transformation,” said executive director Judi Miller.
“”There is a nightly ritual most people don’t see,” said Camp Haven executive director Pat Geyer, speaking of the 270 situationally homeless men and women sleeping in tents in the woods. “They ask, “Where is the shelter?” Only to be told that there isn’t one.”
Camp Haven will use the grant to build a small commercial kitchen and replace the roof on the old Citrus Motel, currently being renovated into a temporary residence for 20 pre-qualified individuals, while providing life skills and support to help raise them out of homelessness.
“The Senior Resource Association operates the only two Adult Day Care Centers in Indian River County,” said CEO Karen Diegl. “It’s currently in an old, tired house; it is pitifully inadequate.”
The grant will allow them to convert their existing Schumann Center into a safe, comfortable and welcoming facility where they can service twice as many clients.
Treasure Coast Community Health will use the grant to greatly expand pediatric services at their Oslo center by purchasing three new dental chairs and converting an administrative area into dental space.
“We want to improve children’s dental health through good dental hygiene and preventive care,” said CEO Vicki Soule, adding that early oral care is crucial to avoid tooth decay, infections and even death.
The other four finalists included the Early Learning Coalition, which is targeting the parents of working class four-year olds as part of a comprehensive education program entitled, “Ready! For Kindergarten.”
The Environmental Learning Center is working on expanding their Discovery Station, the only children’s museum in Indian River County, with professionally designed, interactive environmental exhibits.
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation sought to work in collaboration with the Indian River Land Trust to create a Junior Scientists Fellows Program, working with students at local high schools to study ways to manage critical waterfront lands and habitats along the Indian River Lagoon.
The Vero Beach Theater Guild hopes to expand its “Project Guild on the Go,” which enriches the lives of the elderly by providing musical entertainment to residents of retirement, assisted living and nursing facilities.
A new board was installed at the conclusion of the annual meeting, with Linda Knoll as president and Judy Peshio as president elect, already gearing up for the 2013-14 grant process.