Membership

Anyone with an interest in supporting nonprofit charities in the West Michigan area is welcome to join us! To become a member, please fill out the Registration and Commitment Form. Here is how it works:

  • Women Who Care meetings are held 4 times a year.
  • Members bring a blank check and commit to donating $100 at each quarterly meeting – or $400 per year.
  • Members will vote by ballot on the nominated charities. Since the majority rules, members are responsible for writing their checks to the charity that receives the most votes – even if the charity the member votes for doesn’t win.

Charity Nominations

Members who wish to submit a charity for consideration may do so by completing a ballot at the meeting. 3 ballots will be chosen by random drawing at the meeting.

  • Each member who nominates a chosen charity will have 5 minutes to present a case for selecting that charity for the group’s donation.
  • If the organization you nominate is selected for consideration at a meeting, you will be allotted 5 minutes to make your case. Presentations should be simple and not overly formal – no PowerPoint, handouts or other marketing materials. Click here for Talking Points (pdf) on how to present.

Members who nominate a nonprofit should be prepared to speak briefly and answer a few questions from the members, such as:

1.Name and location of the organization.
2.Who is served by the organization?
3.What do they do? How does this benefit the community?
4.Are they a recognized nonprofit organization/501(c)(3)?
5.How will the funds be used? Will they go towards a specific program or the nonprofit’s general budget?
6.Who is responsible for the program/activity/organization that the funding will benefit?
7.What is the annual budget of the nonprofit?
8.What is the size of the staff?

Charities that do not receive the most votes are eligible for nomination at a future meeting however, once a donation is made to an organization, it is not eligible for another nomination for 2 years.

Donations

Checks should be made out directly to the selected charity at the end of the meeting. All checks are collected and presented to the selected charity.

  • Women Who Care Holland-Zeeland does not administer any of the donations and does not retain any percentage. All proceeds go directly to the selected charity.
  • Tax deduction receipts will be sent directly to each member from the selected organization. You can also use your canceled check as documentation of your contribution.

Meeting Location

PORT 393

www.port393.com

ADDRESS: 393 CLEVELAND AVE, HOLLAND, MI 49423

Frequently Ask Questions

YES! But we ask that you commit for at least a year or 4 meetings.

Any non-profit in Ottawa County or Allegan County that serve those counties

YES, we send out an email after the meeting with the list of the three non profits that were presented and what the money is for and with their websites and the PO Box address to mail the check to so that I can tally the checks!
NO, you need to be present to present! All the non-profits that people want to present are put in a box and we pull out three names.

 

A member can present as many times the same non-profit or a different one as many times as they want BUT if a non-profit is awarded the money, the non-profit can not be presented/or win for 2 years. (Executive Directors cannot present their own non profit)