Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenzie Vath.
Hi Kenzie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Young, ambitious, and willing to make an impact in her backyard, Kenzie was seeking purpose and a way to give back. “Even though I grew up in a family beyond generous and active in philanthropy I did not relate to the action of giving back. I wanted to seek purpose; I thought dollars would not answer my quest. Then, I met Wendy, the founder of Impact100 Global.
I would describe it as a true Divine connection. She inspired me with the Impact100 model, and I knew it was the perfect fit. Southern California was an inactive region for the organization, and Orange County was not a claimed chapter. Written in the stars as they say! I told Wendy I was interested in starting a chapter, and six months later, the action became a reality.“ – Kenzie Vath.
Every culture depends on philanthropy and nonprofit organizations to provide essential elements of a civil society. We have a calling to make a change in our backyard, helping our neighbors, communities, and those in need. I am blessed to have the ability to start a movement in Orange County that I hope will make waves of giving across the Pacific Coast.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
All start-ups have their challenges. Our organization model is that 100 women donate $1,000 to give an impactful grant of $100,000 to a local organization within the Orange County borders.
The two challenges we face are the following:
1. Reaching our 100 members.
We are a start-up chapter, so it takes time to build those foundation members that believe in the organization model and see the relationships we are making with the local need organization. Our board runs lean but mighty. We host free events ongoingly to foster a very welcoming environment to our existing and new members.
2. Building a board.
In full transparency, and as I mentioned above, we are a lean board. As we grow, I believe more members who have the bandwidth and are purpose-driven will join the board to support organizational structure and continued growth.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Empowering Women to transform lives in their community. We are Impact100OC, and our model is 100 women donate $1,000 so we can collectively give a $100,000 grant to a local charity in need. Our grant cycle starts at the beginning of the year, with events in January to kick off our membership engagements and recruitment opportunities. Our 100k goal wraps up the end of August, and we have our BIG REVEAL event announcing our grant size to the OC non-profits community as well as our members.
Nonprofits complete a formal application identifying what they will be using the grant dollars for. Through August and September, our grant committee come together and vet the applications. We do phone calls, site visits and more to ensure the dollars are supporting a need population and will be going directly to the need community. Rather than to operation or expenses of the organization. We want to ensure our dollars go to cause.
The model has been around 20 years, but what makes us special we are the first chapter in southern California.
We are very proud to have achieved a grant size of $65,000 in our second year!!!
What does success mean to you?
Our organization would define success through living out the mission and organizational growth.
Our ultimate goal is based upon growing our donor members and providing larger grants or multiple grants in one cycle.
Pricing:
- Membership – $1000
- Member Plus – $1,100
- Member Gold – $1,250
Contact Info:
- Website: www.impact100orangecounty.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/impact100oc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Impact100OrangeCounty
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact100oc
- Other: https://impact100orangecounty.org/membership/
