New C.O. organization: ‘100 Men Who Care’
They’re new, highly motivated, and have donated nearly $20,000 to Central Oregon charities since October. The 100 Men Who Care of Central Oregon — a new Central Oregon nonprofit based on the crowd-sourced philanthropy model — has a mission to raise and support those in need, and they are off to a great start.
After seeing the success of the Central Oregon chapter of 100 Women Who Care, Steve Shropshire, Marinus “Dick” Koning, and David Lenke were inspired to join the cause and co-found one of Bend’s newest nonprofits.
The 100 Men group spends one hour every quarter, bringing together a group of men who have a similar interest; creating a powerful impact in their community. There are no membership dues; instead, the members each agree to bring a $100 check to the quarterly meeting.
At the meeting, three nominated Central Oregon charities are chosen at random to pitch their mission to the 100 Men members. The membership then has five minutes to question the presenter about finances, mission, and local impact.
The process is repeated two times and then the group votes by secret ballot. The nonprofit receiving the most votes takes home that quarter’s donation. This whole process takes only one hour, and 100 percent of the donations go directly to the winning charity.
“This is a great way for busy people to make a real difference in their community,” said co-founder Steve Shropshire, a shareholder at the Jordan Ramis PC law firm. “The crowd-sourced philanthropy model works.”
“Just two hours of member time from our first two meetings has already leveraged nearly $20,000 in donations! We are off to a strong start and are looking forward to giving back to the organizations that give Central Oregon its sense of community.”
As a result of its first meeting in October, the group raised $8,900 for Saving Grace, a comprehensive family violence and sexual assault services prevention organization in Central Oregon.
The group recently made its second donation of $10,200 to Grandma’s House of Central Oregon, an organization that provides emergency and transitional shelter to homeless or abused teen mothers.
The concept of this philanthropic approach began in Jackson, Michigan, by Karen Dunigan, who started the very first chapter of 100 Women Who Care in 2006. Dunigan coined this efficient method to raising money for local charities, and the positive reaction has gone international. There are now over 250 chapters in the US, Mexico, Canada, and Singapore.
The local 100 Men group meets the second Monday of each quarter, with the next meeting scheduled for April11. To learn more about 100 Men Who Care or for information on becoming a member, visit the group’s website www.100mwcco.org.
