$100,000 grant from Impact100 Martin helps House of Hope
STUART – House of Hope is a recipient of a $100,000 grant from Impact100Martin to expand its “Feeding Families for Success” program.
The Impact Grant provides critical funding for enhancing production capabilities at the Growing Hope Farm in Palm City and the Elisabeth Lahti Nutrition Center in Stuart.
Both Growing Hope Farm and the Lahti Nutrition Center are innovative approaches to feeding the hungry in Martin County. They provide fresh, healthy fruit and vegetables so that House of Hope can not only feed people but also provide them with healthy food.
Impact Awards of $100,000 awarded to SafeSpace and House of Hope
By Jackie Holfelder
At Impact100 Martin’s annual Grant Awards Celebration on April 8 at the
Pittenger Center in Stuart, members of the women’s philanthropic
organization voted to award Impact Grants of $100,000 each to House of
Hope and SafeSpace. Other finalists were the Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin
County and New Horizons of the Treasure Coast, Inc.
Impact100 Martin is committed to creating positive, lasting change through
collective giving. Since its founding in 2017, it has awarded nearly
$700,000 in grants to area nonprofit organizations.
During the hybrid event, some 90 members, along with finalists and
sponsors, attended in person, while other members and guests held watch
parties or viewed on their own virtually. Each nonprofit was given seven
minutes to present the project that would have a lasting impact on our
community for which they were seeking funding.
After members voted electronically, House of Hope and SafeSpace were
selected to receive grants of $100,000 each.
Sponsors of Impact100 Martin’s Grant Award Celebration were HBKS
Wealth Advisors/HBK CPAs & Consultants, Wong Family Foundation,
Florida Power and Light Co., PNC Wealth Management, Sandhill Cove
Retirement Living, Seacoast Bank, The Arati Hammond Real Estate Team,
Camp Bow Wow, First Citizens Bank and Suzi Romanik – Heliographis.
Impact100 Martin empowers women to create positive, lasting change in
Martin County through collective giving. The philanthropic organization
maintains a field of interest fund with The Community Foundation Martin-St.
Lucie, and is a chapter of the global Impact100 Council.
To learn more, become a member or renew your membership,
visit www.impact100martin.org., email impact100martinfl@gmail.com or
call 772-288-3795.
Impact100 Martin to award $200,000 in grants April 8
Jackie Holfelder:
On April 8, Impact100 Martin will hold its 2021 grant awards celebration as both a live and a livestreamed event.
At the event, the philanthropic group will present two Martin County nonprofits with a $100,000 allocation each to be used for a compelling program or project that addresses a critical need or problem in the county.1
The four finalists are Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County, House of Hope, New Horizons of the Treasure Coast, Inc., and SafeSpace, Inc.
In the four years since its founding, the women’s philanthropic organization has awarded nearly $700,000 to local nonprofits, including the two $100,000 impact grants that will be presented April 8. Impact100 Martin is a group of women that is part of the global Impact100 organization. There are currently 200-plus members in the local chapter.
This year, for the first time, the grant awards celebration will take place at St. Mary’s Pittenger Center, 701 SE Ocean Blvd, Stuart. Attendance is limited to Impact100 Martin members, finalists, and sponsor representation only, due to limited capacity with distanced seating. Attendees can RSVP here. All attending are asked to follow recommended CDC guidelines.
The entire event will also be livestreamed beginning at 9 a.m. to the general public; virtual attendees can RSVP here.2
The two nonprofits chosen to receive the $100,000 impact grants will be selected by the entire membership of Impact100 Martin and announced for the first time during the event.
Impact100 Martin empowers women to create positive, lasting change in Martin County through collective giving. The philanthropic organization maintains a field of interest fund with the Community Foundation Martin-St. Lucie.
Florida Oceanographic Society gets Impact100 Martin grant for coastal restoration
Mikayla Brody
Special to TCPalm
Florida Oceanographic Society has received a $25,500 grant from the Impact100 Martin grant program to support greater environmental stewardship of the St. Lucie Estuary and the Indian River Lagoon through the Living Shorelines to Save Our Waters project.
This project will improve water quality, restore habitat, protect shorelines from erosion, and create living classrooms to educate students, homeowners and land managers about the value of healthy shorelines. Florida Oceanographic is proud to have been selected as one of three finalists in the grant competition in April 2019, following several rounds of voting and elimination.
The project seeks to bolster the water quality in the St. Lucie Estuary and the Indian River Lagoon, which has been heavily impacted by Lake Okeechobee discharges, algae blooms and runoff from urban and agricultural areas.
By integrating oyster reefs with salt marsh grasses and mangroves to create a “multi-layer” living shoreline, researchers can create habitat and improve the health of the estuaries. Florida Oceanographic has been restoring important aquatic habitats in local estuaries for more than 10 years and will use the funds from the Impact100 Martin grant program to expand its capacity to construct these living shorelines.
Specifically, the grant will allow for Florida Oceanographic to collect more oyster shells from local restaurants and use the shells as the base to construct living shorelines at three sites in Martin County, one in the St. Lucie Estuary and two in the Indian River Lagoon.
These sites will benefit education, research and advocacy of local estuaries. One of the sites will be lat the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center and will serve as a living classroom for school groups and visitors.
These funds also will support one field trip to the Coastal Center and living shoreline site at no cost to the students or school. Based on the research and results of these living shorelines, Florida Oceanographic will provide recommendations to public land managers, interested homeowners and shoreline contractors. The proposed project will be completed over a two-year period.
Education Foundation of Martin County takes home $100,000 Impact100 grant
Denise Belizar
Special to TCPalm
Impact100 Martin’s 151 members voted to select the Education Foundation of Martin County as its $100,000 Impact Grant recipient at the awards celebration April 11 at Piper’s Landing Yacht & Country Club in Palm City.
The Education Foundation will use the grant to expand its “EFMC Plays Across the District” program to all elementary schools in Martin County. EFMC Plays promotes language, literacy and social interaction with students at the kindergarten level, and has demonstrated significant results in a pilot program conducted this past year.
Other grant finalists included the Florida Oceanographic Society for “Living Shorelines to Save Our Waters” and Tykes & Teens for “Project TEACH (Training and Educating All Child Healers).” Each agency received a $25,500 grant.
“Our growing membership allows us to award a $100,000 Impact Grant as well as provide funding to our other finalists,” said Impact100 Martin Executive Chair Nancy Wong. “We look forward to underwriting even more promising nonprofit initiatives in the future.”
Wendy Steele, founder of the international Impact100 collective giving movement and recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service, gave a keynote address focusing on women in philanthropy.
Impact100 empowers women to dramatically improve lives by collectively funding significant grants that make a lasting impact in communities. The concept is simple: At least 100 women each donate $1,000, with 100 percent of the donations given directly to charity. Impact Grants of $100,000 are awarded to the non-profit organizations and programs where they will have the most transformative impact.
Major sponsors for Impact100 Martin’s second annual Grant Awards Celebration are: Wong Family Foundation, HBKS Wealth Advisors/HBK CPAs and Consultants, Morgridge Family Foundation, PNC Wealth Management and The Arati Hammond Real Estate Team.
Impact100 Martin is a giving circle within the Community Foundation Martin-St. Lucie.
Women interested in joining Impact100 Martin should contact Robin Cartwright of the Community Foundation Martin-St. Lucie at 772-288-3795 or download a membership application at www.impact100martin.org.
Wendy Steele, Founder of Impact100, is Keynote Speaker at Grant Awards Celebration
Denise Belizar
Special to TCPalm
Impact100 Martin will award a $100,000 Impact Grant and $50,000 in additional grant monies to nonprofit organizations serving Martin County at its second annual Grant Awards Celebration.
The celebration will begin at 9 a.m. April 11 at Piper’s Landing Yacht & Country Club in Palm City. Reservations for the breakfast event, which is $25 for Impact members and $50 for guests, can be made online at www.impact100martin.org.
On April 11, nonprofits selected as finalists via Impact100 Martin’s grant award process will present their proposals for initiatives that will make a profound difference in Martin County. Following the presentations, Impact100 Martin members will cast their votes for the $100,000 Impact Grant recipient. The additional $50,000 will be split among the remaining finalists.
Impact100 Martin, established in 2017, is part of a rapidly growing international collective giving movement created and founded in 2001 in Cincinnati by Wendy Steele, who received the 2014 Jefferson Award for Public Service for her work in philanthropy. She will be the keynote speaker at the Grant Awards Celebration.
Impact100 empowers women to dramatically improve lives by collectively funding significant grants that make a lasting impact in their communities. The concept is simple: At least 100 women each donate $1,000, with 100 percent of the donations given directly to charity. Impact Grants of $100,000 are awarded to the nonprofit organizations and programs where they will have the most transformative impact.
Major sponsors for Impact100 Martin’s second annual Grant Awards Celebration are: Wong Family Foundation, HBKS Wealth Advisors/HBK CPAs and Consultants, PNC Bank and The Arati Hammond Real Estate Team.
To learn more about becoming an Impact100 Martin sponsor, contact Genevieve George at 772-287-4110 or ggeorge@hbkswealth.com.
Impact100 Martin is a giving circle within The Community Foundation Martin-St. Lucie. Women interested in joining Impact100 Martin or sponsoring a member should contact Robin Cartwright of The Community Foundation Martin-St. Lucie at 772-288-3795 or download a membership application at www.impact100martin.org.
