Annual Impact Report 2017-2021
Celebrating Five Years
CONNECTING WOMEN AND TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES
TABLE OF
CONTENTS Letter from the President......................... page 3 The Impact100 Model................................ page 4 Impact100 By the Numbers...................... page 6 Cumulative Finalist Directory................... page 10 2017 Grant Recipients............................... page 12 2018 Grant Recipients............................... page 14 2019 Grant Recipients............................... page 16
2021 MEET THE FINALISTS AT ROVE
2020 Grant Recipients............................... page 18 2021 Grant Recipients............................... page 20 Impact100 Membership............................ page 22 Annual Meetings Over the Years............. page 26 Friends of Impact ...................................... page 28
“It is amazing the amount of money this group of passionate women has raised to grant to area nonprofits. Impact100 is becoming a significant force in the Traverse City area. It is exciting to be a part of this organization.” - Jan Garvey, Impact100 Member
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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Celebrating Five Years Dear Impact members, past
I’d especially like to extend heartfelt thanks to all
and present;
of the Impact100 Traverse City presidents who
Since the inception of the Traverse City chapter of Impact100 in 2017, we have awarded over $1.45 million in grants to deserving local nonprofits, and that’s
have served before me - Allison Beers, Diana Milock, Leslie Knopp, Tonya Wildfong, and Jody Trietch. They have been shining examples of leadership, and our achievements as an organization are a testament to their tireless efforts.
all because of you. You believed in the power of
Looking back at the past five years also inspires us
collective giving to transform our community, and you
to envision what we can accomplish this year, and
stepped up to give your time, talent, and resources
in future years. I am so grateful for your support
to make this region an even better place to live. Your
in realizing these shared goals, and honored to
support has made a real impact, and your continued
helm this amazing organization for the 2022-23
commitment to giving back is an inspiration. You have
term. It is truly a privilege to serve alongside our
helped this organization grow from 255 members in
dedicated board members, grant reviewers, and
its inaugural year to 330 members in 2021, allowing
other volunteers and members. I’m continually awed
us to award three transformational grants of $110,000
by the talented and committed women who are part
each. We look forward to continued growth, with the
of Impact100, who make service and philanthropy a
hope that one day we will be able to award a grant in
priority and care deeply about the betterment of our
each of the five categories.
community. I am so proud to be a member of this
This Annual Report serves as a five-year retrospective from 2017 to 2021, giving us a chance to look back at the incredible work we have done together. These
group, and looking forward to making an impact with you in 2022 and beyond. With gratitude,
accomplishments would not have been possible without our members, and all of the leaders of Impact100, past and present, who devoted themselves to growing the organization to what it is today.
Allison Beers 2017 CO-PRESIDENT
Diana Milock 2017 CO-PRESIDENT
Samantha Charnes 2022-23 PRESIDENT
Leslie Knopp 2018 PRESIDENT
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Tonya Wildfong
Jody Trietch
2019 PRESIDENT
2020-21 PRESIDENT
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THE IMPACT100 MODEL
CONNECTING WOMEN. TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES.
THE ANNUAL TIMELINE
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Arts & Culture
Education
Environment & Recreation
Family
Health & Wellness
The Counties We Impact Grants Awarded
Antrim
Leelanau
Benzie
Grand Traverse
Kalkaska
110% 110% members contribute an additional $100 to help fund administrative costs like our Submittable platform, website and database software
49% of Impact donors also volunteer their time as a committee member, board member, or other helper for Impact100 TC
totaling over $1.45 Million!
60% of nonprofit applicants say that applying for an Impact grant helped them obtain funding/ in-kind gifts from other sources, and/or increased their organization’s name recognition IMPACTTC.ORG
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BY THE NUMBERS
IMPACT100 TRAVERSE CITY
330 5 MEMBERS IN 2021
COUNTIES SERVED
EVERGREEN MEMBERS
636
100%
nearly 20,000
UNIQUE MEMBERS SINCE 2017
VOLUNTEER RUN ORGANIZATION
VOLUNTEER HOURS
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133
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BY THE NUMBERS
NONPROFIT GRANTS
93%
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OF APPLICANTS SAY OUR GRANT WRITING TRAINING IS VALUABLE
GRANT RECIPIENTS IN FIVE YEARS
$100K MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT AWARDED
$1,452,000 IN GRANTS AWARDED SINCE 2017 INCEPTION
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“This group of amazing women rose above the challenges of a pandemic last year to grant $316,000 to 3 different diverse and worthy recipients. And this year, despite the continued challenges...$330,000. WOW! I’m so fortunate to have the opportunity to be an active member once again and can’t wait to read applications and get to know more nonprofits benefiting so many in our region.” - Amy Fitch, Impact100 Member
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2017 GRANT
RECIPIENTS In 2017, Co-Presidents Diana Milock and Allison Beers led Impact100 Traverse City to the largest first year membership in Impact100 history. Dedicated women, numbering 255, gathered to collectively give two grants of $127,500 each in the first year, a milestone that speaks to the generosity of our members and our community. Founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, by Wendy Steele in 2001, Impact100 is a collective force for good; uniting and empowering women to give together, creating transformational impact, locally and globally.
INLAND SEAS EDUCATION Since 1989, Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA), located in Suttons Bay, Michigan, has provided learners of all ages with hands-on experiences aboard traditionally-rigged tall ship schooners, along the shores of the Great Lakes, and in local rivers, streams, and wetlands. Their grant initiative restored the donated schooner Utopia into a Coast Guard-approved vessel to continue the instruction of school-aged children. Their mission is to inspire Great Lakes curiosity, stewardship, and passion for the Great Lakes. The renovation of Utopia increased the number of people able to experience the scientific methods for monitoring the health of Grand Traverse Bay, and create a greater understanding of the environmental challenges facing the region. Across Michigan there are thousands of children who have never seen, set foot in, or experienced our Great Lakes to know the wonder of them all. “The trips and in-depth programs we can now run is invaluable to our program,” said Fred Sitkins. “We don’t protect what we don’t love.” And the Utopia will create the environment for students to fall in love with the Great Lakes, S.T.E.M. programs, and their curiosity over and over again.”
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PEACE RANCH HEALTH AND WELLNESS PEACE Ranch is home to 17 unique rescue horses, most of whom have suffered some sort of abuse or neglect and were difficult to place. These horses act as “therapists,” helping those who also are struggling with the effects of trauma in their own lives. Naturally predisposed to read emotions and body language, horses are non-judgmental. The initiative constructed the first Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) program north of Grand Rapids. The benefits range from increased confidence, mindfulness, connectedness, and more. A multidisciplinary team integrates Art, Music, and EAP in a year-round facility that Impact100 TC grant funds helped complete. The new year-round facility has indoor heated art therapy rooms and viewing windows to the arena floor where additional horse therapy occurs. They also have nice bathrooms for staff and guests. Peach Ranch Founder Jackie Kaschel knows first hand the magic that happens when the rescue horses at Peace Ranch interact with people struggling with the effects of trauma. Program Director Jan Stump-Tharp explained that trauma lives at a cellular level. Sometimes we know what needs to be done but our bodies do things differently. IMPACTTC.ORG
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While some organizations recognize up to a 15% decline in membership from first year start up, President Leslie Knopp and Impact100 Traverse City remained strong at 247 members, maintaining two solid grants of $123,500 each in the second year for nonprofits located in the five county region of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau.
ADDICTION TREATMENT SERVICES (ATS) HEALTH & WELLNESS
Addiction Treatment Services initiative expanded their newest program, PORCH (Providing Opportunities for Recovery and Community Health) – a program that will be Michigan’s first community-based effort to address the opioid crisis with a comprehensive, evidence-based, multi-systemic strategy. PORCH aims to provide same-day assessments for those seeking help with addiction, bypassing the normal 2-3 week waiting period. ATS will use the grant funding to hire three PORCH employees and to provide educational resources to employers, schools, and other community groups.
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COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS (CIS) EDUCATION
Communities in Schools (CIS) will continue helping at-risk high school students stay in school by addressing both academic and nonacademic barriers to their success. Their 2018 Impact100 TC grant helped create a feeder school pattern for the CIS model to be implemented in several area school districts, including Kalkaska Public Schools, Central Lake Public Schools, Suttons Bay Public Schools, and Forest Area Community Schools.
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2019 GRANT
RECIPIENTS Ushering in our third year, President Tonya Wildfong and Impact100 TC members expanded on the ground work of previous years to gather a record 304 women. A nonprofit finalist withdrew their application after a construction delay caused their grant timeline to be outside the implementation deadline. A testament to good stewardship to ensure funds will be implemented as applied. We sent four finalists to the annual meeting and three grants of $101,333.34 were awarded.
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CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES ENVIRONMENT, RECREATION & PRESERVATION The Child and Family Services of Northwest Michigan initiative provides job skill training and confidence building to youth ages 17-25 in an environmental stewardship atmosphere through the Youthworks Conservation Corps. Since 1937, Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan has provided support services, such as child welfare programs, counseling and trauma assessments, runaway and homeless youth assistance, and on-going training opportunities that create safer and healthier communities throughout the region. They use a traumafocused lens to help children, youth, and adults heal and grow.
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KALKASKA AREA INTERFAITH RESOURCES (K.A.I.R.)
TRAVERSE BAY CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTER
The Kalkaska Area Interfaith Resources (K.A.I.R) initiative deepens the community-based volunteer organization that assists residents of the Kalkaska County area in need. K.A.I.R.’s existing programs, such as the food pantry and utility assistance, were significantly bolstered with their new community meal program that serves 500-600 meals per month.
Home is not a safe place for everyone. Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) are community-based, child-focused and child-friendly facilities where representatives from many disciplines meet to discuss and make decisions about investigation, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse cases. Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center is an accredited CAC through the National Children’s Alliance. All services are offered at no cost to children and families.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Earnestly addressing the crowd of Impact 100 TC members during her presentation, Cathy Somes explained the severity of food insecurity in Kalkaska County. Twenty-seven percent of children living in Kalkaska County are faced with poverty, and lack of nutritional foods is contributing to childhood obesity and chronic health problems. Somes shared that she was below the poverty line for most of her life, and this led her to help others escape similar situations of emotional and physical stress. “It is only by helping someone else that we can truly better ourselves,” said Somes.
FAMILY
The center serves the six-county Northern Michigan region and the Sovereign Nation of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, providing essential services to children and families after allegations of domestic abuse or the witness of a violent crime. Representing the organization, CAC Executive Director Sue Bolde spoke about their mission to keep up with increased service needs by expanding their building’s first floor. “On this evening, children are being harmed,” she said. Bolde shared that 95% of cases at CAC involve sexual abuse, and the most common age of children they assist is 4 years old.
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2020 GRANT
After start-up, the presidential terms now lengthen to two years. President Jody Trietch raised her hand for the first term. And what a term it was. Impact100 TC held an in-person event announcing another record number, 316 members, gathered to transform their community. Then came COVID-19 and a world pandemic. Lock downs, Zoom committees, and a Virtual Annual Meeting were all firsts, all while giving back to the nonprofit community who so desperately needed the support.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY FAMILY The Habitat for Humanity initiative uses Impact100 TC grant funds as revolving capital in order to accelerate the building process and increase the capacity for new builds. Once a low-income family closes on their home, HFHGT would be reimbursed, allowing reinvestment in the next build. This plan provides consistent capital and a continuous building cycle with no down time between builds. Two new Habitat homeowners, Britney Schwartz and Amanda Wolschon, are both single parents, each with two sons, who struggled with finding secure, affordable housing in which to raise their children. Both possess a strong faith and were determined to find a way to make it happen. The Schwartz home, in Maple City, and the Wolschon home in Williamsburg, are almost complete. Amanda and her sons cannot wait to move into their “forever home” and finally be able to move out of her parents’ home where they have resided for seven years. Both of these hard working women are grateful to Impact100 for giving their families HOPE and a hand up to help make their dreams come true!
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MICHAEL’S PLACE
NEWTON’S ROAD
HEALTH & WELLNESS
EDUCATION
The Michael’s Place initiative is focused on the mitigation and prevention of Trauma, Suicide, and Childhood Bereavement. Their proposed program, Tending the Wounds, is designed to help children and adults traumatized by the suicide or overdose death of a loved one. The initiative engages partner organizations and mobilizes community support by replicating proven national models in an evidence-based approach to address the rising need for grief support programs.
The Newton’s Road initiative proposed a Community Liaison Program to connect communities to a toolkit of low or no cost, high quality, hands-on, STEM-related experiences. By recruiting and training a Community Liaison in each of the 20 library districts in the 5-county region, the program will create more opportunity for the 24,000 K-12 children in the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District.
They welcomed a new Grief Services Coordinator, Kristi Spencer-Nemec, a licensed professional counselor who brings a wealth of grief experience and knowledge from her background in hospice. In her first week she presented at the Youth Summit on Suicide which was attended by middle and high school students as well as educators across the state. In-person programs have resumed! Children and families are connecting directly with a supportive community of trained volunteers and staff to deal with trauma and loss that are nearly unimaginable.
Newton’s Road has hired an Outreach Manager to drive the Community Liaison (CL) program! Outreach Manager Emily Williams’ first Community Liaison (CL) program event took place with Diane Walker of The Rock Youth Center, and Amy Barritt of the Kingsley Library and local CL, above. The Rock provides a safe place for 6th-12th grade youth to belong, build confidence, and learn positive behaviors in the company of loving adults. We also initiated plans to offer hands-on STEM Kits and experiences, introduce Newton’s Road team and resources at their upcoming events, and use our Career Investigator.
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In her second year, President Jody Trietch and Impact100 TC continued to use what was learned during 2020. Continuing to manage virtual events, we gathered 330 women to impact our communities. And we returned to an in person annual meeting – albeit with the doors wide open. By coming together collectively and collaboratively, women can definitively transform the communities in which they live. With enough women working together in enough communities, there is no limit to the impact that we can achieve. We can, indeed, change the world.
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CROSSHATCH CENTER FOR ART & ECOLOGY ARTS & CULTURE
w/co applicant Commongrounds Cooperative Crosshatch and Commongrounds have partnered to meet the outspoken community arts need of “missing middle” art spaces, by developing a dedicated 150-seat performance venue to be housed within the communityowned walls of Commongrounds Cooperative. The partnerships’ Music and Events Venue is a state-of-the-art room, serving our region’s music, theater, dance, and wellness communities through a rich calendar of concerts, storytelling series, residencies, workshops, classes, and exhibitions—with virtual options for participation available for nearly every use of space. Through stakeholder engagement and programming partnerships, we lower the barrier of participation in the performing arts for youth, elders, BIPOC, and members of our regional arts community at-large—both patrons and creators— by providing a cultivated place and culture where the energy resonates with each moment, where safety and trust are paramount, where play is standard, and where innovation and connection are nurtured--beginning in June of 2022 upon building completion.
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COGNITION SCIENCE AND DISCOVERY CENTER
GRASS RIVER NATURAL AREA, INC.
Cognition science and discovery center in Beulah, presents an initiative to transform a portion of its expanded facility into a cutting-edge Earth and Space Lab. A portable planetarium, with inflatable dome theater and expansive science curriculum, will provide families a multitude of immersive experiences including star and planet study, geography, and meteorology.
Access to nature provides significant and vital benefits to mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Grass River Natural Area (GRNA) is committed to ensuring people of all abilities can experience the natural world on a series of universally accessible boardwalks, which immerse visitors in a unique and biologically diverse ecosystem.
Four interactive Virtual Reality stations will provide high-tech simulation experiences for multiple age, interest, educational, and developmental levels. Programs include space exploration, skills training, safe driving and flight simulators, career exploration, and art and design.
GRNA is requesting funds to replace an aging section of existing boardwalk with a six-foot wide barrier-free pathway, free span bridges across the coldwater creeks, ADA accessible observation platforms for views of stunning landscapes, and an enlarged dock with a universally accessible kayak launch at the Grass River.
EDUCATION
These experiences enhance Cognition’s STEM focus and will complement local school district curriculum, providing field trip and assembly options. A “Mobile Lab” will be created using a cargo trailer, enabling Cognition to take both planetarium and VR experiences to organizations throughout the five-county region. Providing high-quality educational experiences that many residents are otherwise unable to access, increases opportunities for at-risk youth and low-income families.
FAMILY
These crucial improvements will create a safe space where children will find joy and wonder in the flight of a butterfly, where adults will come to quiet their minds, and where people of all backgrounds and abilities will feel the comfort and solace that comes from time spent in nature.
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2017-2021
MEMBERSHIP We’d like to thank the following Impact100 Traverse City members for their support, as well as the members who chose to remain anonymous.
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“I love learning about the community nonprofits in our area that can be enhanced and helped by the generous thoughtful process of Impact100 members. ” - Becky Darga, Impact100 Evergreen Member
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Our “Sharing the Love” fund grants sponsorships to women who want to participate in Impact100 but can’t cover the full $1,000 contribution.
BECOME A FRIEND OF IMPACT AT www.impacttc.org/support-us
