Four local nonprofits became the latest Community Partners of Impact 100 Indian River at the funding group’s 17th annual Meeting and Grant Award Celebration, with each awarded a $100,000 grant, thanks to the collective giving of Impact members. Additionally, three other nonprofits were each awarded $22,000 Merit Awards.
The total amount of grants awarded is based on the number of members that year, who each contribute $1,100, with $1,000 pooled to fund grants and $100 going toward administrative costs. Membership in Impact 100 Indian River, which has awarded more than $7 million to local nonprofits since its founding in 2008, is open to all women. A newly extended annual membership deadline is March 31.
This year’s $100,000 grant recipients were the Indian River Soccer Academy, Treasure Coast Community Health, United Against Poverty and the Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy.
The Soccer Academy grant will be used for a four-part expansion project to secure and maintain a Fellsmere soccer facility, promote growth by offering Fellsmere children a true in-house recreation program, provide professional licensed staff to execute the training plan, and to identify community leaders to support and ensure the program’s sustainability and longevity.
TCCH, the only general dentistry provider in the county that accepts Medicaid, will use the grant to fund equipment specifically tailored to the needs of children for its new Oslo area pediatric center, which will provide primary and preventive care to children up to age 18, more than doubling their current capacity.
Despite losing power for five days, United Against Poverty proved its mettle by opening its UP Center to serve as the county’s first-ever multi-agency resource center after the devastating tornadoes spawned by Hurricane Milton. The grant will be used to purchase and install a generator to power the entire facility, ensuring that when the next storm hits, the UP Center will be able to respond immediately to community needs.
The Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy will launch a Culinary Academy to address food insecurity among local children and to provide workforce development opportunities for teens and young adults. The three-part project will include hiring a certified culinary instructor to prepare students for hospitality positions; providing nightly dinners to some 60 low-income children in their after-school program; and hosting quarterly parent-children cooking nights.
The Merit Award winners were the Hibiscus Children’s Center for a Supporting Families in Crisis program; the New Port Club for its Building a Better Day Open House Project; and Tykes and Teens, for a Family Peer Support program.
“This is the most exciting event of our whole year,” said Suzi McCoy Shriner, outgoing board president, before the finalists all made their case before the membership.
“Because today we come together as, y’all know my favorite term, a sisterhood of philanthropic women united with a single purpose. A purpose that celebrates generosity, possibility and the incredible work that is happening right here in this very room.”
After hearing from the seven finalists, she said members would be asked to vote on which organizations they felt would make the greatest impact on the community and their own organization, would be able to manage a $100,000 grant most effectively and sustain their project beyond the two-year partnership, and which they felt was most deserving of the “Impact 100 Gold Seal of Approval.”
Prior to the awards being presented, Shriner thanked everyone for allowing her to be their president over the past two years.
“We all have big hearts that want to make a difference in this community,” she said. “I want to thank you all for helping us to do something bigger together than we could do alone.”
Speaking to all seven finalists prior to announcing the winners, Shriner said they have all shown what is possible when passion meets purpose, thanking them for dreaming big, doing the hard work, and believing fiercely in their missions.
“We want you to know that we believe in you, and we believe in what you’re doing,” said Shriner.
For more information, visit Impact100IR.com.
Photos by Joshua Kodis and Mary Schenkel
