We make it easy for our members to do a lot of good, fast. Every dollar donated — 100% of it — goes straight to nonprofits serving underserved and disadvantaged communities in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

Every giving member chips in each year, we pool it all together, and giving members review, vote, and decide together where it goes. Philanthropy, but make it a group project — the good kind.

Nope. We were founded by women, but membership’s open to anyone, any age, anywhere, who’s on board with the mission.

Nonprofits working in Santa Clara and/or San Mateo Counties in Education, Family, or Health & Wellness. Past recipients have worked on literacy, domestic violence prevention, mental health, and youth development.

A group of women in Los Altos had a simple idea back in 2006: recruit 100 women, each give at least $100, and give it all away together. Since then we’ve awarded over $2.7 million in grants to more than 100 local organizations.

No — we’re independently run. No chapters, no parent org, just us.

Zero, officially — we’re 100% volunteer-run, top to bottom.

A few simple rules we try never to break: keep it affordable, keep the time commitment light, stay all-volunteer, give away everything donated each year, give every giving member an equal vote no matter what they gave, and stick to our three focus areas — Education, Family, and Health & Wellness.

They can subscribe to our mailing list or check this site for updates on the annual cycle.

Yes — member fundraisers, grant finalist presentations, and community events throughout the year.

A structured scoring rubric, site visits, and a member vote — no back-room decisions here.

Yes! Giving members (and the people who love them) can encourage nonprofits to apply during the open Letter of Inquiry period.

$100 a year — that number hasn’t budged since 2006, even though, yes, we know inflation exists. Most giving members give more; the average gift is around $360. Membership runs on a calendar year no matter when you join, and everything donated gets granted out annually.

Two main paths:

• Donation to Grants — your core membership gift; 100% goes straight to that year’s grant recipients.
• Donation to “Friends” — supports our operating costs, events, and behind-the-scenes admin, so the Grants dollars stay 100% pure.

Yes — we’re a registered 501(c)(3), so your gift is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Join a grant committee, volunteer through 100 Minutes, get involved with the Board or a committee, or just show up to events.

• Spring: Letters of Intent due
• Mid-August: Full applications due from invited organizations
• Fall (Sept–Nov): Grant Committees meet, dig in, and do site visits
• First Saturday in March: Membership Dinner & Grant Vote

Up to 45 a year. Of those, 12 semi-finalists get a site visit, and 6 finalists make it to the final vote — every finalist walks away with a grant.

After the Letter of Inquiry, selected nonprofits submit full applications. Grant committees review, visit, and bring their picks to the members for a vote.

Six finalists present their project at our March event. Every giving member gets a vote, in person or remote. The top three vote-getters become Impact Grant winners; the other three receive Investment Grants.

Back in 2007, our first grants totaled $31,500 — a nice number to look back on next to where we are now.

Any giving member who donated the previous calendar year is eligible to vote for that March’s finalists.

LinkedIn for the professional side, Instagram for the behind-the-scenes moments, Facebook for community chatter.

Email info@100womenfoundation.org, or write to us at P.O. Box 3418, Los Altos, CA 94024-3418.