How do you turn $100 into $25,000? That vexing question, on the lips of every nonprofit board chair and development director in Vermont these days, has an answer: giving circles. Four times a year, a group called 100+ Women Who Care-Chittenden County collects a C-note from each of its members and doles out the total to three local orgs that have been nominated, vetted and chosen in a drawing.
After hearing a five-minute pitch from each one, the women vote. The winner gets $10,000, plus an additional $5,000 from a Minnesota foundation that supports this kind of philanthropy. The runners-up each get $5,000 in this version of “Shark Tank” — not bad for a consolation prize.
I know all this because Seven Days was a recipient of the group’s largesse. Specifically, it went to our nonprofit fiscal sponsor, Journalism Funding Partners, which helps pay for our investigative journalism. Earlier this year we got an email letting us know we had been selected to make a case for the funding. The winter meeting was virtual, so deputy publisher Cathy Resmer and I got five minutes on Zoom — in front of dozens of women — to explain why our local newspaper is struggling to continue its good work and how their contributions could help us.
Pitching voters on a computer screen was a little nerve-racking, but I guess they liked what they heard — enough to award us the largest check. It all happened fast, with no grant application, review of financial reports or other red tape.
I was deeply grateful, of course, but also wanted to know more about this generous group — and to personally become part of it. That’s how I found myself walking the corridors of South Burlington’s University Mall on a Wednesday evening late last month. Across from the AT&T store, I found a vacant storefront filling up with women — mostly my age and older — for a quarterly meeting of 100+ Women Who Care-Chittenden County.
After about 15 minutes of spirited socializing, steering committee member Lynda Siegel took the mic, juggling the in-room sound system and online attendees. A former teacher at the Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler in Burlington’s Old North End, she knows how to control a crowd.
We heard from the immediate past winner — a representative from Salvation Farms gave a brief report — before attention turned to the current contenders: the Composting Association of Vermont, Never Give Up Ever and All Brains Belong VT. The trio was chosen randomly from 77 member-nominated nonprofits.
I already knew a bit about All Brains Belong VT, which received the most votes. Seven Days reporter Ken Picard wrote a story in January about the local nonprofit redefining neurodivergent health care. But I was eager to learn more about the other two nonprofits that each got $5,000.
After the quick business of determining the lucky recipients, there was cake and Champagne to mark the fifth birthday of the group, inspired by the 100 Who Care Alliance, which has more than 650 chapters around the world. Local founder Barbara Keller had the idea before the pandemic but launched it mid-crisis, in July 2020. Thirty-five members ponied up $100 each for the first award. One recipient, Spectrum Youth & Family Services, walked away with a $3,500 check. By January 2021, membership had surpassed 100 — hence the “plus” sign.
Now 228 strong, 100+ Women Who Care has since donated $334,148 to 59 nonprofits serving Chittenden County, leveraging another $65,000 from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation. Franklin and Addison counties have their own giving circles.
“When you call somebody and say, ‘You’ve been nominated to potentially get a $15,000 donation,’ nobody ever hangs up the phone,” Siegel said of her gratifying volunteer job.
“Many women want to be philanthropic, and they don’t have a lot of money, necessarily, of their own to give away. There’s something about the pooled giving that’s really appealing — the fact that your money can have such a huge impact,” Siegel added.
If the group continues to grow, it will either increase the amount of the primary award or the number of runners-up — or both. All those $100 bills add up.
Join the caring crowd at 100wwcvt.com.
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2025.
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