Mission
The 100 Women Charitable Foundation streamlines and amplifies our members’ philanthropic engagement, making it easy for them to create a lasting difference in our local communities. We are committed to channelling 100% of donations annually to nonprofits that benefit underserved or disadvantaged populations.
100 Women Today
100 Women is a growing community of women, their families, and friends who believe local problems deserve local money – fast, direct, no red tape. We talk about what’s happening in our community, and then we do something about it, together.
Each year at our Annual Meeting and Grant Vote, members put their heads together on where the money goes next. We’re a recognized tax-exempt organization awarding grants in health & wellness, family, and education. Tax ID #20-5704725.
Our History
It started with a question. It became something much bigger.
In the fall of 2006, four Bay Area women — Teri Zingale, Connie Viveros, Barbara Dehn, and Mary Ann Poulos — were tired of the same frustration. They’d spent years pouring time and energy into fundraising events: the galas, the silent auctions, the endless committee meetings. The money raised never felt proportionate to the effort.
So they asked a different question: What if we skipped all that, and just gave directly?
The concept was almost absurdly simple. Recruit 100 women, each giving $100 or more. Pool the gifts. Award them to local nonprofits that actually needed the money. No overhead, no gala, no middlemen — just collective giving, close to home.
By March of 2007, they had their 100 women. And the 100 Women Charitable Foundation was born.
Twenty years later, we have more than 450 members. We’ve awarded over $2.7 million to local nonprofits.