They call it “Impact 100” for a reason. The organization of 100 Baldwin County women has a single goal in mind: they have a commitment to the county, and they sincerely desire to help.

Founded a couple of years ago with 82 members, Impact 100 is somewhat of an exclusive club, but they happily open their doors to any woman who wants to join. Interested members simply make a $1,000 tax-deductible donation and they are in, but it is what happens to the money that makes the true impact.

“Our first year, we gave $82,000 to Mary’s Shelter, a home for pregnant women in Elberta,” said Susie Bridges, a member of Impact 100.

Mary’s Shelter used the $82,000 grant to implement a transitional housing program for the new mothers after they gave birth to their children.

Each $1,000 membership gift is placed into a pool and grants are then given to non-profit organizations that serve the needs of those living in Baldwin County.

“Last year we had 90 members, and this year we got up to 150 members,” Bridges said.

During its second year, Impact 100 gave $90,000 to CARE House, an organization assisting abused children. Outward Bound Five Rivers was the recipient of this year’s $150,000 grant, and that money will be used to help improve the graduation rate of Baldwin County students. Outward Bound Five Rivers works to give students encouragement and the confidence they need to stay in school.

According to Bridges, non-profit organizations can apply for the grant given by Impact 100 in several different categories: Arts and Culture; Health and Wellness; Environment, Preservation and Recreation; Education; and Family.

Bridges said although the group is happy about being able to make such a sizeable donation to a deserving charity, it is difficult to go through the selection process, knowing that some groups will have to be denied. But the forward-thinking women who make up Impact 100 are already looking down the road at ways of offering more assistance to more organizations.

“We hope that we can grow our group to the point where we can give out more than just one grant each year. We’d like to eventually be able to give a grant to a group in each category,” Bridges said.

Irene Meehan is the past president and founder of Impact 100. Presently, Nancy Corte serves as president.

Those interested in becoming part of Impact 100 can apply for membership at www.impact100baldwincounty.org.