It’s an education for members and a chance for nonprofits to showcase their work.
By Barb Demarest, Grant Administration Chair
DECEMBER 2024: Impact100 Garden State Member Engagement events run a gamut from social to educational. In recent years, we have added mission-based events to respond directly to the interest that members have expressed in our Membership Surveys to have an opportunity to see the work that our grantees are accomplishing.
We select organizations that are in progress on their Impact100 Garden State grants. However, when we visit, we also have the opportunity to see beyond the specific program we funded and learn about a broad array of the grantee’s programs.
Seeing the scope of our grantees’ work
This fall, we visited Oasis – A Haven for Women and Children, located in Paterson. Oasis received a $100,000 grant from Impact in 2023 for “WomenSpeak: The Oasis English as a Second Language” program. The program provides ESL classes for up to 200 immigrant women of varying English Language skill levels. Oasis helps these women integrate into the community, prepare for the U.S. citizenship test, and more. To ensure they can attend the program and become job-ready, Oasis also offers childcare, meals, clothing, and counseling. (Learn more about Oasis in this Grantee Spotlight.)
Members who attended the visit to Oasis were impressed by the range of services that Oasis offers and the high level of professionalism and organization throughout the facility—from the kitchen serving meals to the thrift shop and the childcare facilities. Each member had the opportunity to sit in on an ESL class and meet a few of the students, who represent a wide array of countries of origin and clearly provide each other with friendship and support.
Gaining a new perspective
We also visited Second Street Youth Center (SSYC) in Plainfield this fall. SSYC received a $100,000 grant in 2022 to enable it to hire a Family & Community Navigator who would link families to available resources and enable them to become advocates for themselves and their children. The grant also funded a first-of-its-kind bilingual Community Resource Guide. (Learn more about SSYC and how it was able to leverage the grant in a variety of ways in this Grantee Spotlight.)
Our SSYC visit included a tour of the facility and an opportunity for each Impact100 visitor to read a story in a preschool classroom, and then the group discussed challenges and future plans with Impact100 member and SSYC Executive Director Leah Dade. One member in the visiting group later commented, “The visit made [the grant] more personal to me than reading about it or watching a video could do. It was incredible to see where our grant money went, how it was being utilized, and how many people it is helping—not only the children but also all the employees. The future needs and expansion plans of the program were thought-provoking.”
On a personal note, I have observed that the questions and comments from Impact members, whether as part of a site visit or as part of Member Engagement, often help nonprofit organizations to hone their appeal to donors. At the same time, our visits often transform Impact100 members to a level of advocacy for the organization that far exceeds the commitment we feel to all nonprofit receiving one of our grants.
Looking ahead
Two visits to grantees are currently in the planning process for the spring. Stay tuned for additional information! In addition, we are exploring volunteer opportunities for members to work with grantees. For questions, or to join the Membership Engagement team, contact Margaret Nelson at RSVP@impact100gardenstate.org. If you have questions about current grantees, reach out to Grant Administration Chair Barb Demarest at grants@impact100gardenstate.org.