May 2025 Newsletter

Message From the Board

Dear Members and Supporters,

As we continue to bask in the excitement of our recent Big Reveal event, we now turn our focus to the heart of our mission—funding transformational grants. This process unfolds in three key phases: the Letter of Intent (LOI), the Full Application, and Site Visits.

I’d like to spotlight the LOI phase, which has just kicked off! We recently hosted a Grant Workshop webinar to support nonprofits through this important first step. We were thrilled to welcome 193 participants —a strong indicator of the growing interest and energy in our community. The LOI is a brief digital application that helps confirm a nonprofit’s 501(c)(3) status and financial eligibility, while offering a high-level overview of the proposed initiative and budget. The LOI submission period is open now through May 5th, so please help us spread the word far and wide! Last year, we received 113 LOI submissions, and we’re hoping to see that number grow.

The second stage is our Full Application phase, during which our five Focus Area Committees take a deeper dive into each organization’s mission, structure, and project details. They focus on identifying proposals that demonstrate:

Significant, deep or broad impact on the population served—or that reach a new population entirely;
Transformational initiatives that are unique or strategic in addressing a problem in an innovative way; and
Organizational and project sustainability, ensuring the nonprofit is financially sound and the project will continue to benefit the community well beyond the grant period. Committees utilize a detailed rubric to quantify evaluations, which sparks lively discussions as they work to narrow down the top candidates.

The final phase, Site Visits, offers nonprofits the opportunity to shine—sharing their story, vision, and project in person. For our committee members, it’s the most rewarding stage: meeting passionate leaders who bring bold dreams for our community to life.

To make this process successful, we need members to help review submissions over the summer—no experience required! If you're interested, please register via MemberLeap to join a Focus Area Committee and make an impact.

Warmly,

Jill Henry

Grants Chair (Nonprofit Liaison), Impact100 Atlanta

The Big Reveal

We are thrilled to announce that the unwavering generosity of 356 remarkable women has enabled us to raise $356,000 for our 2025 grant pool! This remarkable achievement will empower Impact100 Atlanta to award four grants of $89,000 each to deserving nonprofits within our community this year. This also marks a philanthropic milestone for our chapter, as we will surpass $1 million in total funds awarded.

We are still beaming with excitement from our Big Reveal. It was incredible to cheer for one another, see our Impact in Action with the Atlanta Victim Assistance brand new Community Care Unit on site, and celebrate with the extraordinary women of Impact100 Atlanta to the amazing soundtrack curated by DJ Labonita!

For more details about this exciting announcement, please read the full press release HERE.

We would like to extend our gratitude to The Carlyle, our new Diamond sponsor, and all of our sponsors who help to make these special events possible. We could not to it without you! Thank you to Cathy Tilman and Jen Odom for planning and executing such a fabulous celebration and to our new member and photographer, Terry Berger, for capturing these exciting and special moments.

Thank you again to all our 2025 Members for your incredible dedication, commitment, and compassion. Together, we are changing lives and making an impact in Atlanta.

VIEW PHOTO GALLERY HERE

MEMBER ORIENTATION INFO HERE

Member Engagement

To all of our 2025 Members, we are thrilled you will be part of our Impact this year! Whether you’re brand new or a returning member, we can’t wait to connect with you and share all the ways you can get involved, if you so choose.

Join us for Member Orientation!
Come learn more about our process and what’s ahead this year, meet fellow members, and discover how you can make the most of your membership experience. We have both zoom and in-person options which are open to all members—we’d love to see you there!

In Person: Tuesday, May 7 | 6:30–8:00 PM
Zoom: Wednesday, May 8 | 6:00–7:00 PM

Ready to dive in? Committee sign-ups are now open!
Log into your Member Dashboard and head to the Committees Page (use the “Engagement” dropdown or click the yellow button) to explore opportunities to get involved. Sign-ups will remain open through the end of May.

Board Spotlight: Michelle Gilfillan

A huge shoutout to our Founding Board Member and Treasurer, Michelle Gilfillan, who works tirelessly behind the scenes to keep Impact100 Atlanta running smoothly. As a fully volunteer-led organization, we know just how much time, care, and commitment it takes to manage our finances—and Michelle does it all with grace and precision, year-round.

Michelle, we are so grateful for you!

Congratulations to our NextGen!

Our NextGen volunteers have been an essential part of Impact100 Atlanta since our very first informational happy hour in 2022. These young women have supported every one of our signature events, helping us to make a greater impact in our community. We are so grateful for their time, energy, and commitment.

Congratulations to our NextGen volunteers that are graduating this year!

Emma Bradley Sarah Land

Vivienne Cannon Olivia Pilot

Connie Erdozain Kate Rebillot

Ava Johnson Hayden Sheehan

If you have a young woman in your life (ages 13-17) who is interested in volunteering as a NextGen, please email nextgen@impact100atlanta.org

Nonprofit News

Thanks to your generous support, something powerful is now rolling through Atlanta!

Last year, Impact100 Atlanta awarded a transformational grant to Atlanta Victim Assistance (AVA) to launch their first-of-its-kind Community Care Unit (CCU)—a mobile healing space that provides immediate, onsite support for victims of crime. And now, it's here! A special thank you to Shontel Brunson-Wright and Paula Gaillard from AVA, for bringing the CCU to our Big Reveal and treating our members to the VIP tour!

Board Members Michelle Gilfillan, Jennifer Tardelli, Laurie Sheehan and Jill Henry and members, Gail Richman and Lindsey Parrish, were there to celebrate with AVA as they cut the ribbon to officially launch the incredible new CCU powered by Impact100 Atlanta.

Thank to all 2023 Members who helped make AVA's Community Care Unit possible and to AVA for the incredible work you do every day supporting this community. We could not be more proud of this shining example of our Impact in Action!

VIEW AVA ON THE NEWS HERE

Save the date for the Empty Stocking Funds Student Supply Kit Blitz and Ribbon Cutting for their Education Express!

Date: June 12, 2025
Time: 1:00 - 4:00PM
Place: Empty Stocking Fund, 693 Humphries Street, SW, Atlanta, GA 30310

Volunteers will be stuffing school supplies that will be distributed, primarily to students in APS and DeKalb County Schools. This is a fantastic opportunity to volunteer your time and connect with other members, but also a chance to get to know one of our 2024 grant recipients and see them in action. Grab a friend and come spend the day making an impact with us!

ESF will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony for their brand new Education Express powered by Impact100 Atlanta following our volunteer shift! This will be an exciting day as we get to celebrate our Impact in Action as the Education Express prepares to deliver school supples to Atlanta communities.

Important Dates

May 7: Member Orientation (in Person) 6:30-8:00PM
May 8: Member Orientation (ZOOM) 6:00-7:00PM
June 12: Empty Stocking Fund Purposeful Pop Up with Ribbon Cutting to follow 1:00-4:00PM
November 9: The Big Give - Annual Meeting TBD

VIEW FULL EVENT CALENDAR

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

DIAMOND SPONSORS