‘Pennies from Heaven:’ 100 Women Who Care group raises thousands of dollars in less than an hour

There’s a new women’s group in the Valley, formed on a concept that sounds impossible — raising $10,000 for a charitable cause in less than an hour. But the truth is, it’s so simple they’ve done it twice already this year, and will do it again at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Sigillo Cellars in Snoqualmie.

“We raised about $13,000 for the National PKU Alliance at our first meeting, and about $15,000 for the Snoqualmie Valley Community Network in September” said Lauren Clark, one of the group’s leaders. “It’s fast, no-nonsense, from the heart giving.”

The group, 100 Women Who Care – Greater Snoqualmie Valley, is actually about 160 women, each of whom committed to donating $100 to the charitable causes selected by consensus at the group’s quarterly meetings — which take an hour or less, as long as Clark is involved.

“I am a fanatical time-keeper,” she announced.

Clark, of Fall City, started 100 Women Who Care – Greater Snoqualmie Valley this spring, after hearing about a similar group her cousin, in Vancouver, B.C., belonged to, while on a visit there. Her cousin left for a meeting one evening, she said, “and she was back in an hour and said ‘oh, yes, we just gave $25,000 to the soup kitchen.’”

Back home in the Valley, Clark said she thought about doing something similar for “a long time….then I decided, it’s so simple, we can’t not try it… People are pretty engaged in this small community, and they want to be engaged.”

To start, she needed 100 women to commit to the group.

“I wanted to find 10 people who could find 10 people each,” she said, and she did. They call themselves the starting committee, and they can’t say enough good things about each other.

“The 10 women I’m working with are amazing,” says Clark, “but they’re not more amazing than anybody else in the group. Everyone is excited… and everyone has their niches.”

“Lauren is a leader,” said Heidi Dukich, also on the starting committee. “Everybody is doing their part and it all comes together.”

Dukich, of North Bend, is the executive director of the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank, and the group’s designated expert on non-profit operations.

“We were all really well-intentioned people who knew nothing about non-profits,” Clark laughed.

Since every charity must be in operation for at least a year, agree to provide receipts, not be affiliated with any religious or political organizations and be an official 501(c)3 non-profit to be considered for funding, some knowledge about non-profits was important for the group.

Knowledge, or education, is actually one of the main benefits of belonging to the group, both Clark and Dukich said.

“This is another opportunity to educate people about the needs,” said Dukich, not only of the organizations, but of the communities they serve. “It’s all about education, and how helping people in the community helps your community as a whole.”

“I think the education part is even more valuable,” Clark added, relating her experience at the September meeting, when a member first learned about the Mount Si Senior Center and found an opportunity to volunteer there, although that organization wasn’t chosen for funding.

“I think people are looking for ways to join,” said Dukich, to which Clark added, “To give, to learn, to be more involved, to volunteer,” and Dukich concluded, “it makes our community healthier.”

About 10 organizations have been nominated at the past two meetings, but only one is chosen for funding, by a vote of members; absent members are expected to send their donations to the chosen organization, too. Only members, who have committed to donating $100 four times a year, can nominate a charity. At the meetings, three nominations are randomly selected to state their cases, in five minutes or less, for receiving the funding, and again, only members can make those presentations.

That requirement is one of Clark’s favorite aspects of the group.

“You can’t bring in a representative from the agency and have them present for you,” she said, “It has to be a heart story, and because you have only three to five minutes to speak, you don’t have to worry about being too polished.”

Of course, she also likes the support they give to local organizations. “It’s kind of pennies from heaven, nobody’s expecting it and then suddenly they get it,” she said.

New members are welcome to bring their completed paperwork to the group’s next meeting, 7 to 8 p.m., or shorter, Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Sigillo Cellars in Snoqualmie. Find the forms and more information on https://sites.google.com/site/gsv100womenwhocare or search for 100 Women Who Care Greater Snoqualmie Valley on Facebook.