A Letter From Our President

At our 2025 Annual Awards Ceremony, we heard something that I haven’t been able to shake.

Diane Charles, President of the Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit, stood on stage and shared a simple, heartbreaking reality:

20,000 children in our community would go to sleep that night without a bed.

I remember sitting there, hearing that number, and it rattled me. It was staggering, and there was an immediate contrast I couldn’t ignore.

While setting up for the event that night, I remember thinking I couldn’t wait to crawl into bed. I would go home that night to a bed that felt safe and comfortable, without thinking twice about it. I was actually anticipating it as some type of reward for my “tough” day.

But in that same moment, there were 20,000 children in our community without that basic sense of comfort or security, maybe even wondering where they’d actually sleep that night.

The moment we awarded our grants that night, and Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit’s name wasn’t called, crushed me. It was a tough pill to swallow. Not because it made me question what we do at Impact100 Oakland County, but because it made the gap between the need and what we can fund feel very insurmountable.

Over the past 10 years, Impact100 Oakland County has brought women together in this community to grant more than $2.5 million to nonprofits doing incredible, life-changing work.

We’ve funded programs that feed families, support survivors, provide healthcare, and open doors for people who need it most.

And we’ve done it in a way that’s intentionally simple.

We show up.

We give.

And we decide—together—where it goes.

But here’s the part I keep coming back to:

There is always more need.

More stories.

More organizations doing meaningful work.

More people who could benefit if we had the ability to do more.

And the only thing that expands what we can do… is us. The number of women who choose to be part of this. That’s it.

As we close our membership season, this is the moment where that decision matters. If you’ve ever thought about joining—this is your time.

Not because we’re trying to grow for the sake of growing… but because there are real needs in our community that aren’t waiting.

Because 20,000 kids are still going to sleep at night without a bed.

Impact100’s collective giving model is one of the simplest ways to do something about that.

Join. Give. Vote.

This is how we turn something that feels overwhelming… into something tangible.

If you’re already a member—thank you. Truly. You are part of this impact, and I hope you’ll invite another woman to join you.

If you’re not—this is your invitation. You’re cordially invited to award transformational grants to nonprofits serving Oakland County.