Letters from our Presidents

From Outgoing President Janet Walls:

I believe it’s important to reflect on all that we’ve accomplished together at Impact100 Nashville this past year. We exceeded $1M in total giving since our inception, reaching a total of $1,051,000 in grants awarded since 2014. We welcomed 81 new members and retained 60% of our 2022 members for a total membership of 230, allowing us to award four grants totaling $230,000 this year.  

We welcomed several new corporate sponsors in 2023 including our first Platinum-level sponsor, Humana, bringing our total number of corporate and in-kind sponsors to 17. Our sponsor retention is strong and provided operating expenses of $49,625. These corporate sponsorships along with member plus donations fund our administrative expenses. 

Another highlight of 2023 was continued improvements in our operations and systems. We implemented a customer relationship management (CRM) system including a texting application that streamlines the storage of our membership information and facilitates better communications with members.  We hope that you have opted into texting from Impact100 so you can receive individual reminders about upcoming events.  

Thank you to the 2023 Executive Board of Directors with whom I served this past year.  Seven of those members have completed their terms and are leaving the board.  We thank Ginger Duncan, Susan Levy, Liz Miller, Lisa Bashinsky, Tiffany Coursey, Michele Nanna, and Susan Groenwald for their service.  Those leaving the board will join the Legacy Committee, serving as mentors and advisors to the Executive Board of Directors.

Thanks also to the Advisory Council for their great work this year in establishing the Board Buddy program as well as their partnership in driving both member and sponsor growth.

It has been my pleasure to serve as your President in 2023.  I am pleased to introduce you to your new president, Joanne Sowell.

From Incoming President Joanne Sowell

I am so excited to be leading Impact100 Nashville this year as the new incoming president.  I look forward to serving you and making an even greater IMPACT in 2024. We each do our part in making this happen and I hope to get to know our members better over the course of the year as we work together to make Nashville and the surrounding communities stronger.

Our goals this year include strengthening our programming and finding more and new ways to make our Impact community stronger. A stronger bond will help lead the way to new members, new friendships, and more service.

Impact100 expands our community impact by growing our membership.  Each new member enables us to give more grants to qualified non-profits.  Please help us by renewing your membership and inviting your network to join us. 

Each year we welcome our new board members at our “Baton-Passing Ceremony” where we officially transfer responsibility from retiring to new board members.  Below are a few pictures of that event held on January 5 including a picture of the 2024 board.

I look forward to serving you.

Joanne Sowell

Your new 2024 Board of Directors  

In addition to our returning board members,

those with an asterisk next to their names are new this year.

You can read their profiles HERE to learn more about them. 

Dedicating the IMPACT 100 Training Center

January 16, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

at The New Buchanan Campus

1757 16th Avenue North in Nashville

Thanks to a $100,000 grant in 2022 from IMPACT 100 Nashville, Crossroads is preparing young adults for high-demand pet grooming jobs that pay in the range of $60,000 - $80,000 annually.  These young adults (age 18-25) were otherwise on the brink of homelessness, as they lacked the necessary career skills to afford stable housing.  

Crossroads is proud to dedicate the IMPACT 100 Training Center on its new Buchanan Campus in recognition of this life-changing philanthropic investment that is breaking the cycle of poverty, joblessness and homelessness among young adults in Nashville. 

Impact100 members, this is a great place and time to introduce your friends and co-workers to Impact100 Nashville by showing them what impact our grants have on the community.  Please plan to attend.  

Find Other Events on Our Website

All upcoming events are listed on our website at https://nashville.impact100council.org/events

New Website Feature

To help members and potential members learn more about Impact100 beginnings, we recorded three live sessions with some of our founders and trailblazers.  There are three videos in the series Impact100 Nashville:  The Early Days.    Each podcast video is from 5-10 minutes long.  Session #1 features three founders who talk about how and why the organization was founded.  Session #2 addresses the organization’s decision to become part of the national Impact100 organization.  Session #3 discusses the evolution of grants at Impact100 Nashville.  Please give us your feedback.  You will be able to find the videos here by mid-January.

It’s Renewal Time

It’s that time of year again for us to renew our membership in Impact100 Nashville and our commitment to the Nashville area non-profit community.  It’s easy to renew.  Simply go to our website at 

https://nashville.impact100council.org/membership. 

Or if you prefer to pay by check, send your check to Impact100 Nashville,
PO Box 22626, Nashville, TN 37202.   

If you’d like to pay in installments, you can do so in monthly payments through May.  To learn sign up for installments email finance@nashville.impact100council.org.

Consider becoming an Evergreen Member by agreeing to have your membership dues automatically processed each year.  That way you don’t have to remember, as we’ll remind you!  Know that your commitment is always cancellable if you change your mind. Evergreen members will have a special designation and will be honored in marketing materials, on our website, and at events. If interested, write to the finance email above.

Help Impact100 Grow

Our sole purpose is to combine our philanthropic and financial power to create social change in the greater Nashville community. The only way to grow our grant impact is to grow our membership.  Please join us in helping achieve even greater IMPACT by inviting your network to join us. 
Host a coffee or event at your house or place of business; speak to your friends and neighbors about what you love about Impact100 Nashville, or simply bring a friend to an upcoming event. 
If you need help speaking to your network about Impact100 Nashville,
please reach out to membership@nashville.impact100council.org.

Tornado Relief Efforts

The Community Resource Center of Middle Tennessee (CRC), one of our 2022 $100,000 grant recipients, provides critical hygiene products to our most vulnerable neighbors.  While the CRC Hygiene Bus, funded by our grant, will help deliver over a million hygiene products during the year, it is when disaster strikes that CRC goes into action immediately to further support our community.  CRC is one of the founders of the Nashville Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and works directly with the Mayor's office as a Member Agency of the Community Emergency Management Plan.  Tina Doniger, CEO and founder, and the three full-time staff members rely on the amazing volunteers who work in the CRC warehouse, sorting donations of thousands of hygiene and household products for distribution.  Thanks to their efforts, those impacted by the recent tornadoes have access to diapers, soap, toothbrushes, shampoo, cleaning supplies, tarps, batteries, and much more.  Following are some pictures of their efforts and some of our member volunteers.

We are grateful for the support of our sponsors who help us fund operational expenses of the organization so we can better serve you and the community.

We also appreciate these In-Kind Sponsors: 

Barge Design Solutions, Julie Lilliston Communications, KPL Photography and Vaco

Our mission is to build a dynamic and diverse membership of generous women who accelerate positive social change in the greater Nashville area.