About Us

100+ Women Who Care Northern Virginia was founded in May 2012. It is for women who are interested in making a positive impact within their local community, but who also have limited time and resources to give. To put it simply, we are a giving circle focused on making collective gifts to local nonprofits.

We get together four times a year to contribute $100 each to a selected local nonprofit for a combined impactful donation. We walk away with a feeling of genuine camaraderie and a heartfelt giving spirit.

Here is how it works

100+ Women Who Care meetings are held 4 times a year on the first Thursday of the first full week of the months February, May, September, and November. (In the Spring of 2026, we changed the summer meeting from August to September to enable more members to participate after vacations.)
Members commit to donating $100* at each quarterly meeting – or $400 per year either by writing a check or by enrolling in the online giving portal, Grapevine, for a charge to a credit card or bank account.
Members nominate and present up to three nonprofits at each meeting. (Members presenting are allowed to bring a representative from the nonprofit being presented to help answer questionsduring the five-minute Q&A that follows the five-minute presentation.)
Members vote by ballot on the nominated charities. Members are responsible for writing their checks to the charity that receives the most votes – even if the charity the member votes for isn’t selected.
Your donation will be matched 100% every quarter by the M&M Fitzgerald Family Fund, making your $100 a $200 gift each quarter!

*Members who join as a team donate $50 each per quarter.

Membership

Anyone with an interest in supporting nonprofit charities in the Northern Virginia area is welcome to join us! To become a member, please fill out the Registration and Commitment Form online or complete the form on paper and bring with you to our next meeting.

Limited resources don’t need to exclude you from joining. We offer a team option for women who would like to participate with a friend. You each commit to share the cost of the total donation and decide which one will cast the vote for the nonprofit each quarter.

Charity Nominations

Members who wish to submit a charity for consideration should complete and submit a Charity Nomination Form. We encourage members to submit the completed Form at least two weeks before the meeting and submit it to the Giving Circle Leader. This enables us to send the Form to members to review and conduct further research prior to the meeting, if they choose.

Nominated charities must be recognized as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code.

Up to 3 charities will be chosen by random drawing prior to the meeting and members will be notified via email if they were selected to present. Alternates will be selected if a member cannot attend the following quarter’s meeting.
Members presenting are allowed to invite a representative from the nonprofit to help answer questions during the Q & A session.
Each member who nominates a chosen charity will have 5 minutes to present their case for selecting that charity for the group’s donation. We suggest that you explain why you nominated it and share a story that speaks to their mission. Then members have 5 minutes to ask questions of the member or representative.
Presentations should be simple and not overly formal. While you may provide a handout or brochure, absolutely NO powerpoint presentations or other marketing materials allowed.
You must be a member in good standing (donations up-to-date) to bring forth and present the charity.

Members who nominate a nonprofit should be prepared to speak briefly and answer a few questions from the members, such as:

Name, location, and service area of the organization.
Who is served by the organization?
What do they do? How does this benefit the community?
Are they a recognized nonprofit organization/501(c)(3)?
How will the funds be used? Will they go towards a specific program or the nonprofit’s general budget?
Who is responsible for the program/activity/organization that the funding will benefit?
What is the annual budget of the nonprofit? How much goes towards administrative and fundraising?
What is the size of the staff?

Charities that do not receive the most votes are eligible for nomination at a future meetings. However, once a donation is made to an organization, it is not eligible for another nomination for one year.

Charities must be brought forth through the formal nomination process as outlined above. We do not allow members to bring forth nominations or “spam” our social media pages in an attempt raise awareness or raise funds outside of our meetings. This will be cause for immediate removal from our chapter.

Donations

Most members have signed up for quarterly donations to be made through Grapevine, the online giving portal. The portal charges your credit card on the month of our quarterly meeting, then sends a collective check to the nonprofit chosen at the end of the quarter.

Alterntively, members can write a check, making it out directly to the selected charity at the end of the meeting. When meetings are virtual, members can mail checks to the president who will send or present all checks to the selected charity in approximately 4 weeks after the meeting.

However you give, you will not receive future solicitations from the the charity.

100+ Women Who Care does not administer any of the donations and does not retain any percentage. All proceeds go directly to the selected charity.
Tax deduction receipts will be sent directly to each member from the selected organization. You can also use your cancelled check as documentation of your contribution.

Meeting Locations