The concept of pooling funds to boost philanthropic effectiveness has clearly resonated with Vero’s financially savvy women. Since its first distribution in 2009, Indian River Impact 100 has awarded more than $2 million in transformational, impactful, sustainable grants in four focus areas – Family, Education, Health/Wellness and Enrichment/Empowerment.
The formula is straightforward – one woman, one $1,000 check, one vote. With 433 members last year, Impact 100 was able to provide four $100,000 grants and three $11,000 grants.
An incentive for some is the option of limited involvement; they simply write a check for $1,000 and vote for their choices at the annual meeting in April or via absentee ballot.
But the success of the all-volunteer organization is due to the efforts of all the dedicated women who work tirelessly and efficiently behind the scenes throughout the year. The largest of the committees, and arguably the most critical, is the Grants Committee, chaired for the second year by Suzanne Bertman, assisted by Margaret Anne Evans and Denise Battaglini.
The grant process actually begins each August, when all Indian River County nonprofits are invited to send representatives to a Training Day Seminar where they are walked through the application process and the types of grant requests they will consider.
“We are a little different from other organizations in that we are trying to give transformational grants rather than transactional grants. We’re looking for something that’s more big picture. We want them to identify a larger strategic issue than they’ve had before; whether it’s to implement a new program or change the way they approach a need they have within the organization,” explains Bertman, adding that projects must also be sustainable. “We’re looking for projects that will have a high impact. It doesn’t necessarily have to affect a large number of people, but it has to have a high impact on the community.”
Submitted applications are reviewed by a leadership team in November to ensure they meet all criteria and the team then works with the organizations to clarify areas of confusion.
“These people have put in a tremendous amount of work and we don’t want to reject out of hand,” says Bertman.
Last Wednesday, approximately 65 women gathered at Northern Trust Bank to begin the next phase of the grant review process, with four panel teams, led by a panel chair and a financial specialist, assigned to review applications in each of the focus areas.
“Today you are beginning the most important work of our year, and that is to review, discuss and analyze the grant applications. It’s hard work, but very exciting and rewarding work,” said Judy Peschio, Impact100 board president.
To ensure impartiality, panel members complete a conflict of interest statement and are asked not to discuss the requests with anyone outside the granting process.
“We try so hard to not have any sense of an unfair advantage. We stress confidentiality,” says Bertman. “I don’t think everybody realizes what a stringent review these grant applications get. It’s one of the fairest processes I’ve ever seen.”
Of particular importance are the financial specialists, who each have strong financial backgrounds.
“There is a wealth of financial information that we require,” Bertman explains. “But we realize that financial information can be quite confidential, so the only people who see all of the financials are our treasurer and the financial specialist working on those grants. We are incredibly careful about confidentiality.”
After reviews, panel meetings and all-important site visits, the panel reconvenes to vote on which applications it wishes to “push forward.” A selected panel “facilitator” makes a presentation to the leadership team stating why she believes a particular grant should be a finalist, and leadership determines the finalists to be presented at the annual meeting.
“The panelists are very invested in the groups they want to push forward. At the annual meeting they’re often as excited as the agencies that win. It’s a fascinating process. It’s amazing how you see that the cream rises to the top,” says Bertman. “It’s a long day but it’s very exciting.”
Agencies are quickly notified of the results and finalists complete a specific template describing their project, which is then sent to the general membership before the annual meeting.
“Group philanthropy is not for everyone, but I’m glad we have it here in Vero. It’s honestly pretty exciting for all of us,” says Bertman.
During Impact Week, Jan. 26 to 29, the most recent grant recipients, Shining Light Garden, Indian River Charter High School, Scott Center for Autism Treatment and ORCA (Ocean Research & Conservation Association) at Vero Beach High School will open their doors so that members and perspective members can see the grants in action.
Visit www.impact100ir.com for membership information and details on Impact Week.