Our Mission: 100+ Women Who Care Greater Sarasota provides donations to local charities to make life a little better for people in need. Alone, we can do so little but together, we can do so much.

Pitching Your Favorite Charity

 

Nominating and Presenting a Charity

Each member has the opportunity to nominate a local, recognized 501(c)(3) charity to receive our collective donation. Nominations are made by placing your charity’s name in the hat at our biannual meetings.

For our purposes, “local” means the charity serves Greater Sarasota—specifically Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, and Charlotte counties. One of the greatest benefits of our group is learning about amazing organizations, often right in our own backyard, that are changing lives. Your presentation can create a significant financial impact and help bring lasting support to the mission of your favorite charity.

Who Can Present

The nominating member may either:

  • Pitch the charity herself, or
  • Invite a representative from the charity to present.

If a representative is presenting, they must attend the meeting and be ready to speak, even if their charity is not selected. The nominating member will be required to introduce the charity and share why she supports it. If the member presents herself, she may still have a representative available to answer questions.

The opportunity to present is guided by the following:

  • An organization that is selected to receive a donation will be ineligible to place its name in the hat for the next six meetings.
  • An organization that is selected from the hat and makes a presentation, but is not awarded the donation, will be ineligible to place its name in the hat for the following meeting.
  • An organization that places its name in the hat for three consecutive meetings and is not selected to present will automatically be granted the opportunity to present at the next meeting.

Presentation Style

Keep your presentation simple, genuine, and from the heart. Personal stories and connections resonate strongly with our members.

 

Important Required Step

Important Step – Advance Notice

Please notify the Committee no later than two days prior to the meeting if you plan to pitch a charity. Email 100womenwhocaregreatersarasota@gmail.com with:

  • Your name
  • The legal name and address of the charity
  • The charity’s EIN (tax ID number)

If your charity is chosen to receive the donation, please also provide a short paragraph about the organization for our member communications.

Presentation Information

Tips for Presenting

Presentation Guidelines

Presenters have five minutes to speak, followed by five minutes of Q&A. Keep your presentation simple, genuine, and from the heart. Personal stories and connections resonate strongly with our members.

Give A Little Background

  • Tell our members about the non-profit:  who they are, what they do, how they do it, the people they serve, and the impact they have. 
  • Describe how long the organization has provided services to the community
  • Help members understand the non-profit’s operating budget and funding sources
  • While you don’t need to cover every detail, be prepared to answer questions members may have

Describe the Need & How the Donation Will Be Used

  • Describe the program(s) or service(s) to be funded
  • Describe what and how many clients or populations our group donation would likely impact
  • Clarify if any of the donation will be used for administrative fees or salaries
  • Be clear on what the money will “buy” for the community
    • Remember, people want to make wise choices as to where their money goes. Make sure you are well informed. Will the money be applied to the general operating budget to help your chosen non-profit grow? Will funds be used to purchase supplies, materials or technology? Will the donation be used to expand a program or service?

Make It Personal

  • Tie in your own personal story about why the organization means so much to you
    • If it matters to you, it will likely matter to someone else. Use testimonials, stories and real-life events to help your audience make an emotional connection with the non-profit and gain an understanding of the non-profit’s values.

Be Ready to Answer Questions

  • People might ask questions about overall budget, how many staff the nonprofit has, or number of people served in a year. If you don’t know the answers to these questions, that’s fine. Just say so. If you like, you can get the answers after the meeting and follow up.

Closing Tip

  • Remember: this is your chance to secure $100 from each of our members (currently numbering more than 200) for your charity. End with a heartfelt ask and a genuine thank you!

Good luck—we can’t wait to hear your pitch!