100 Women Who Care Celebrates Giving More Than $425,000
Jenny Welch got the idea from a book and will tell you that God was moving between the lines of text.
100 Women Who Care Elkhart County started in 2014 after she and her friend Sheila Terlep partnered with the Community Foundation of Elkhart County to create a giving circle. Four times a year, women across Elkhart County gather and contribute $100 each, resulting in a $10,000 gift to a local nonprofit.
The group celebrated its tenth anniversary in July 2024 and has given away more than $425,000 to nonprofits.
The group originated when an idea sparked from Welch reading the book “Be The Miracle” by Regina Brett. The book shared the experience of another 100 Women giving circle. Welch felt a calling to create a similar local giving circle, so she called her dear friend asking her to consider founding this group with her.
The ladies spread the word to everyone they knew, encouraging others to join. They were determined to create something bigger than themselves that would make
an impact.
“I wanted to see women coming together, working together to make this community better,” says Welch.
Sheila Terlep (left) and Jenny Welch speak at the July 100 Women Who Care Elkhart County event, which resulted in a $10,000 grant. Samaritan Center gratefully received the award (shown at right).
Welch and Terlep met with the Community Foundation of Elkhart County from the start to create a fund so that everything is housed in one place and donations and checks can be administered efficiently.
The first meeting in 2014 was a hit and the start of what was all to come.
At the July 2024 meeting, the group hosted a huge celebration to commemorate and reminisce on the past ten years. The meeting was full, with past CEO recipients, current members, new women looking to join the group, and Community Foundation staff.
At a traditional meeting, once a woman has paid her $100 contribution, she nominates a local nonprofit of her choosing. The only restriction is that it must be a nonprofit serving Elkhart County that hasn’t been chosen in the past three years. All nominations go into a fishbowl to be drawn. Three will be chosen at random, and a five-minute speech will be given advocating for that nonprofit. After the presentations are done, women present at the meeting vote for one nonprofit. The one with the most votes receives $10,000.
Jenny Welch gathers nominations during a July 100 Women Who Care event, which was the only time men have been invited to attend this gathering.
The July 2024 meeting had a special twist. The meeting occurred in its normal process, but Welch and Terlep went to the podium to announce the chosen recipient. They surprised the crowd by granting $10,000 to all three nominations and everyone in the room applauded loudly. For the first time, $30,000 was going to be given away at one meeting. The recipients were The Front Porch Foundation, the Silent Samaritan fund at the Samaritan Center, and Saving Grace Advocacy.
A week or so after the meeting, a check presentation follows at the site of the selected nonprofit. This allows the women to hand off the check and learn a little more about the nonprofit, which is the group’s favorite part of the whole process.
100 Women Who Care Elkhart County has given more than $425,000 in grants during its first 10 years, including Susanna’s Kitchen (left), Boys & Girls Clubs of Elkhart County (right), and Saving Grace Advocacy (below).
Saving Grace Advocacy has received the $10,000 check from 100 Women multiple times. Their mission is to “support the community of Elkhart County by assisting individuals with employment resources, life coaching, mental health counseling, family resources, and food aid.”
Chris Ulery, director of Saving Grace Advocacy attended the 100 Women ten-year celebration meeting as a past recipient winner and was surprised to hear her organization’s nomination that evening.
“I was completely shocked when all three nominations won, but it was very cool. When I first heard our name, I didn’t think we would win because the other two organizations were also so deserving, but when I heard all three of us were receiving it, I started to cry. Our budget is not very big; we’re a very small agency. So $10,000 to us is crazy. It’s an amazing amount that will help us provide more acts of services for people in our community,” says Ulery.
Welch and Terlep ended the meeting with full hearts and were excited about what the future holds.
“I think the vision of 100 Women Who Care will continue to grow, maybe even within our own community. What’s really neat is that between Jenny and I, I think we know three or four other 100 Women’s organizations that have started up in other states, because they have reached out to us to ask about what we do and how we do it. It’s cool to know that it didn’t stop just here and I am excited to see how this group continues to grow and make an impact,” says Terlep.
Chief Development Officer Carrie Berghoff speaks during a 100 Women Who Care event.
The generous members of 100 Women Who Care Elkhart County are delighted to have met needs including fighting homelessness, helping animals, and supporting children and families. This group is growing and welcomes all women in the county.
This story appeared in the 2024 Annual Report.
