A Letter from the President: Reflecting on our 2024 Grant Awards Ceremony
As I sit down to write this, I am still in awe of the energy, passion, and power I witnessed during our Annual Grant Awards Ceremony in early November.
I’d like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to the 2024 Impact100 grant recipients! These incredible nonprofits are the true boots on the ground, working tirelessly to sustain and uplift our community every single day. Your impact is real, transformative, and desperately needed. On behalf of the entire organization, we’re honored to celebrate and support your vital work.
And to our members, your generosity and passion for change make these grants possible, and I am honored to represent you as Board President for the next two years. As I step into my role, I’m filled with a deep sense of purpose. My focus will be on sustainable practices to ensure long-term growth, so we can continue to empower our members and create lasting change where we can make the most impact — Right in our own community.
As a member since our inception in 2016 and my first ceremony as President, this year’s AGAC was profoundly personal—a full-circle moment for me. One of the programs members voted to fund provides weekend meals to students right in my own neighborhood—in a community I’ve called home for over 30 years. Just a mile from the neighborhood where I grew up and in the very school district I attended as a child.
To be part of this mission, to see the need of the families and community members who walk the same streets and attend the same schools I did, creates an overwhelming sense of responsibility and humility. More importantly, it’s a powerful reminder of how much focusing your efforts to achieve the biggest impact can actually change lives.
Yet, there’s still more work to do! And that, too, can feel overwhelming. Two nonprofits left our awards ceremony without grants that night. And while they may have received exposure and access to philanthropists in the communities they’re serving, funding is still desperately needed.
Impact100 Oakland County’s model is a simple yet achievable way to create funding to fulfill this need. Large-scale grants, utilized with a hyper local focus, designed to distribute funds across five areas of focus, so that no void goes left unfilled. It’s imperative that we grow to be able to fund each of these focus areas, Education, Arts & Culture, Health, Family, & Environment, Restoration & Recreation.
If you live or work or hail from this community of Oakland County, I implore you to utilize our giving options to become a member and take part of our 2025 giving ceremony.
And have a little fun with a group of like-minded women in your community!
With Gratitude,
Aly Mandeville
President, Impact100 Oakland County Board of Directors