These materials were designed to inspire your conversations and outreach to prospective Impact100 Garden State members. Feel free to use and adapt them as best suits your own style!
The first sections provide background about the organization, and later sections suggest sample language to use when approaching a friend or acquaintance about Impact100 Garden State.
A simple idea, a big impact
Impact100 Garden State strives to be a premier and diverse women-led New Jersey philanthropic organization, inspiring members to become more engaged with their communities.
Each year, we pool members’ donations of $1,000 each to award one or more high-impact grants of at least $100,000. Every penny of members' annual membership fees is used to fund grants.
Three things:
- Finalist selection: We have a rigorous process to narrow down the list of potential grant recipients. Any member who is interested can participate on a grant review committee.
- One member, one vote: Every member is entitled to one vote for each grant we make.
- Follow-up: We take pride in providing diligent oversight after grants are awarded to ensure meaningful results and lasting impact.
We make a difference!
We started making grants in 2013. As of June 2023, we have awarded more than $3 million to nonprofits in our service area.
Our grants have addressed the needs of people who are homeless and food insecure, at-risk youth, low-income preschool and school-aged children, aged-out foster youth, and veterans, to name a few.
Learn more about the impact of our grants in our special 10 Years of Impact publication here.
Members choose their level of involvement
Membership is open to any woman, age 18 or over, who makes an annual tax-deductible donation (membership fee) of $1,000. Members who pay in full by January 31 are entitled to vote on the grants we make that year.
There are no other membership requirements. Some women limit their participation to paying the membership fee and voting for grant recipients. Others enjoy serving on committees and attending our social and educational events. We welcome all levels of engagement.
Some of us are not totally comfortable with the idea of “pitching” friends and acquaintances to consider membership. The informal language below is designed to give you some ideas and insights for a meaningful two-way conversation with a potential member.
Your own natural and sincere sharing will, of course, be the best advertisement Impact100 Garden State could have! Feel free to personalize this language so it reflects your own voice.
Because some conversations may take place over social media, we’ve attached suggested
language (“Social Media Outreach Language Suggestions”) for Facebook and LinkedIn.
Have I ever talked to you about Impact100 Garden State, an organization I’m involved with? I think you would like it!
“What is it?”
Impact100 Garden State is a group of women who make $100,000 grants to local nonprofits to support programs that make a real difference for people in need. Each member makes a donation and each member has a vote on who will receive our grants. Because we pool our money, what we donate has a bigger impact than our individual contributions could.
“What kind of donation are we talking about?”
Each member donates $1,000 each year. Donations are tax-deductible, and they go directly to grants—not to administrative costs.
When I thought about it, I realized that my own giving over the course of a year—$50 here, $200 there, $20 there—adds up, and yet I can’t be sure if it has any impact. I know that Impact100’s $100,000 grants can transform lives.
“What type of women join?”
Interesting women, from all kinds of backgrounds. We have lawyers, designers, accountants, caregivers, mayors, and women from many other professions. Our membership also includes students, stay-at-home mothers, and retirees.
What members have in common is that we care about our communities and want to make a difference for good. All kinds of women join, all are welcome, and everyone’s voice is equal.
What kinds of things does Impact100 do?
(Note: For help answering this kind of question, look at the 10 Years of Impact publication created for our 10th anniversary, which tells the story of each of our major grants here.)
Here’s a sample of dialogue using recent grant awards:
“In June 2023, we gave $100,000 grants to Family Promise of Morris County for a program that will provide mental health services to homeless single women; to Oasis - A Haven for Women and Children to provide English as a Second Language classes to women immigrants; and to Servant’s Heart Ministry for a program that teaches valuable construction skills to low-income youth.
“There’s lots more on the website at www.design-proposal.com. The great thing is that every member has a vote on where the money goes.”
“I have so much on my plate—I’m just too busy to take on anything else.”
The beautiful thing about Impact100 Garden State is that you can be as involved or not involved as you want. The organization only asks that you give $1,000 and vote once each year for the grant recipients. There are no additional fundraising requests or obligations—no auctions, no galas, no golf outings, and no raffle tickets!
If you decide to do more, there are plenty of ways to get involved: one-shot volunteer opportunities, grant reviews, educational get-togethers, and social events. You can have whatever kind of experience you choose. But if you decide to get involved, you’ll meet a lot of smart, amazing women like you.
Sharing your personal motivation is meaningful. Fill in your own reasons, but here are some ideas:
The reason I joined is …
- I wanted to be able to help with real needs in our community, and by combining my donation with that of others, I can make a difference.
- When you make a donation, it’s sometimes hard to know what good your contribution does. With Impact, I have a vote on where the grant money goes, and I know that a Grant Administration committee is tracking how it is used.
- As a member of Impact, I feel I’m a part of the solution instead of just worrying about the problems.
- I wanted to meet smart, interesting women with the same interest I have in making a difference.
- We meet real needs for people and it is so moving. When we gave out the grants this year, the organizations’ representatives were literally crying with happiness.
- This is the real deal: Impact grants make a difference. For the Interfaith Food Pantry, we were able to fund a refrigerated vehicle so they can deliver food to people who don’t have transportation. We funded financial literacy education and low-cost loans for low-income families in Paterson. We’re helping poor children to get nutritious food, teens to have a pathway to college, homeless people to find a place to stay, and so much more, right here in northern New Jersey.
- I wanted to learn how to evaluate nonprofits to be sure my family’s donations are going where they will be used effectively.
Explain why you think this person, in particular, should consider joining. Of course, draw on your knowledge of the person you’re speaking to, but here are some ideas:
I think you’d be great for Impact100 Garden State because …
● You really care about people in need and this is a way to make a difference.
● Your skills and experience in [finance, marketing, education, project management, community volunteering] would be so valuable to the group.
● I think you’d really like the chance to meet and work with fun, smart, and interesting women from throughout northern New Jersey.
Wrap it up: Suggest a specific next step.
● There’s a Meet & Mingle on [date, time]. Can I send you an invitation? It will last about 45 minutes, and it’s very casual. There is no pressure to join. (Note: Meet & Mingle dates will be listed on our website here. You can also suggest a date of your own. Write to member@impact100gardenstate.org.
● If you’d like to learn more, check out the website at https://impact100gardenstate.org/. I can also send you some materials if you like.
● See Our Impact with Google Maps
● Give it some thought and I’ll check in with you next week to see if you’d like to explore a no-pressure membership Meet & Mingle.
Here are some social media language suggestions:
FACEBOOK POST SUGGESTIONS:
Below are options for language for a post on your Facebook page to let your network know about Impact100 Garden State. You should, of course, feel free to use your own words so your post is authentic and sounds like you.
Note: You might want to share one of Impact100 Garden State’s Facebook posts when you mention membership. You can also provide a link to the organization’s 2022 recruitment video here.
"Times are tough. Together, we can help our neighbors. I’d like to invite my Facebook friends to learn about Impact100 Garden State, a dynamic group of women whose combined efforts have led to more than $3 million in grants for people in need in our local communities in northern New Jersey. I love being able to make a difference and I think you would, too. Learn more at Impact100gardenstate.org or message me and I’d be happy to answer any questions you have."
[or]
"Women like you are making a difference in our local communities. I’d like to invite my Facebook friends to learn about Impact100 Garden State - a group of smart, dynamic local women who pool their donations to give out grants of $100,000 to local area nonprofits.
We’ve helped organizations feed the hungry, educate the financially illiterate, help foster teens, and so much more. Learn more at Impact100gardenstate.org, and please message me if you’re interested. I’d love to tell you about my experience with Impact100 Garden State."
FACEBOOK MESSENGER SUGGESTIONS:
You may want to contact friends individually via Facebook Messenger.
Here’s a sample message:
Hi, [name]—Have I ever told you about this group I’m involved with, Impact100 Garden State? I love it and I think you would, too. It’s a group of women who want to make a difference in our communities, and we do.
We pool our donations and each year give at least one $100,000 grant to a local nonprofit to help solve problems of hunger, homelessness, and much more. And every member gets a vote on where the money goes! Check out what we do at Impact100gardenstate.org. Can I give you a call to tell you a bit more?
SAMPLE LINKEDIN DIRECT MESSAGE:
Dear [name],
Because I know you’re a dynamic, high-achieving woman, I’d like to invite you to consider joining Impact100 Garden State. Our organization combines members’ individual $1,000 donations to give out one or more $100,000 grants each year to effective local nonprofits.
You can be as involved or as not-involved as you want—it’s your choice! Whatever you decide to do, you will know that your membership is helping to have a big impact on solving problems in our communities.
I’d like to invite you to a virtual, no-pressure one-hour meeting on [date, time] to learn more about the organization. In the meantime, you can check out our website and see some of what we’ve accomplished at Impact100GardenState.org. I’d be happy to have a call at your convenience to answer any questions you may have.
Keep in touch!
Impact100 Garden State is on: