Jeannie Otto, who founded the 100+ Women Who Care chapter of Shawano County, was caught on a hot mic proclaiming “We have no money.”
Otto was referring to money to operate the organization itself. Money goes directly from more than 120 women to whichever nonprofit organization moves the group more. On Aug. 6, the Women Who Care surpassed the $300,000 mark when they gave more than $12,000 to the Shawano County Humane Society to help with operations and caring for the dogs and cats in their care.
The actual total of giving is $303,700.
With most of the women wearing various shades of pink, they listened to presentations from the humane society, along with Bridge the Gap and Leadership Shawano County, and then cast secret ballots to determine who should receive the latest pot of money. The Women Who Care have vetted almost 40 nonprofit organizations in the county, and the three who presented were among the last who had not received any funding from the group.
As an added boost, many of the more recent recipients also get an additional $5,000 from the Richard Schulze Foundation, based in Minnesota. Once the nonprofit is selected for the women’s money, the founders of the local chapter apply to the foundation to get the grant. According to Otto, who started the group six years ago in Shawano, only one nonprofit has not received the extra funding since Women Who Care started applying.
“Now, it’s about a $17,000 (total) opportunity for our nonprofits,” Otto said. “I basically take about five minutes to apply for this grant, and they’ve just about matched every single nonprofit that I submitted.”
Giving to the community is a primary motivator, but Otto noted the meetings give the women a chance to socialize and learn.
“This gives them an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves instead of just giving individually,” she said. “Giving as a group helps to make friends in the community and understanding the needs of our community. It’s just a lot of fun. People love coming out and having fun.”
Although it started with each member writing out a check for $100, modern amenities have made it easier to give. Otto said there is an online app called Grapevine where women can donate with the click of a button.
“They don’t even have to bring their checks anymore,” Otto said. “It just comes off of their credit card or their checking account, and it’s done before they even get here. It’s super easy.”
The giving comes easily to the women who meet on a quarterly basis at Stubborn Brothers Brewing Company. Lois Aumann is one of the women who started with the group and is eager to give up $100 every three months if it helps people in Shawano County.
“It sounded like a nice thing to do,” Aumann said. “It was a way to make money for our charities in Shawano.”
Elsie Greenhill had previously heard of the Women Who Care program, so it was a no-brainer when she learned that Otto was trying to gather women locally to do the same thing.
“We had heard of 100+ Women in other communities, and we were glad that they were starting one here,” Greenhill said.
Reaching the $300,000 threshold made it all the sweeter for the women to realize what a group of generous people can do.
“It’s awesome, and it’s nice that it stays in Shawano County,” Greenhill said. “I’ve met some lovely ladies in the organization, and I think we’re all on the same mission — funding in nice, big chunks instead of little pieces.”
Aumann agreed.
“It’s just nice to know that we can make that big of a difference with such little effort as far as donating the money and learning about all the things that they do in the area,” she said.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
