Impact100 awards $876,000 in grants to local nonprofits

The Impact100 SRQ sixth annual Celebration and Awards Ceremony is the largest event of the nonprofit's cycle each year, and it welcomed a major figure in the world of philanthropy.

Wendy Steele, founder of the overall Impact100 organization, which includes over 70 chapters across the United States and beyond, was present, offering praises to the chapter.

"The Impact100 SRQ's home is filled with superlatives: best place to retire, best beaches, best community, and your chapter is no exception," Steele told attendees at the event, held Jan. 22 and Sarasota Municipal Auditorium.

The nonprofit, which is built on a model of at least 100 women giving a $1,000 tax-deductible donation, issue grants of $109,500 each to eight of 10 finalists. Steele praised the finalists, who spanned categories from arts and culture to health and wellness.

"Each one of you has a compelling cause," she said. "You are making the world better every single day, and you communicated that today so effectively, so powerfully."

Pam Kandziora, president of Impact100 SRQ, said this year, the organization has been focused on outreach, through word of mouth and other methods, drawing applicants from further north and south.

"For many nonprofits, I think a lot of donation money, legitimately so, is going to hurricane relief, and that's certainly understandable," she said. "So, it's nice to have this pocket of capability to award something to our finalists that are looking at doing some big project and dreaming big, that they wouldn't have had the funds to do otherwise."

Angela Melvin, founder and CEO of Valerie’s House, a nonprofit which supports grieving children, said the organization was touched by the number of women giving back to the community and said she and her staff were "jumping up and down" at being chosen.

"When you hear your name called out, you realize all the hard work is worth it, and that people believe in us, and that they believe in the mission of helping children grieve, because that is something that you don't always think about unless it's happened to your family," she said.

Scott Bush, CEO of SunCoast Blood Bank, said, "This is absolutely amazing. It's just absolutely a pleasure to be here, an honor that we were recognized in this powerful group of women here. We're just blown away."