Six area nonprofits will now be able to better serve their community thanks to $564,000 in grants from Impact 100 Baldwin County.

At its annual Evening of Impact on Oct. 21, the grant distribution nonprofit named six agencies chosen from the focus areas of arts and culture and recreation; education; environment and preservation; family; and health and wellness. They will each receive $94,000.

Impact 100 Baldwin County is a philanthropic organization of women coming together to make high-impact grants to improve the lives of people in Baldwin County. New this year was the addition of a sixth grant available.

"Thanks to the Impact donors and members, Impact 100 Baldwin County will award six grants — not five — for the first time in its history. Tonight's awards bring the total invested in our community to over $6.5 million since 2008," said Nancye Wolfe, Impact 100 Baldwin County president.

The winning groups and projects this year include:

South Baldwin Community Theatre — Project Room to Grow;

Fairhope Point Clear Rotary Youth Club — Growing Together: Enhancing Pre-K Access and Nutrition in Baldwin County;

Magnolia Springs Volunteer Fire Department — Protecting Lives and Environment in Harder to Reach Areas;

The Arc of the Gulf Coast Inc. — Bricks of Belonging: A Home for The Arc of Gulf Coast;

Thomas Hospital Foundation — Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program; and

South Baldwin Literacy Council — Building for Brighter Futures: Capacity Expansion to Expand Educational Services.

The nonprofits were selected from a competitive field of applicants and vetted by a rigorous review process including site visits, financial analysis and in-depth discussions within the respective focus group. Finalists made a short presentation about their projects at the annual meeting, where members then voted for who they found most compelling, and the results were announced at the end of the event.