100 Women Who Care holds 2nd network fundraising meeting in Vancouver

Researching charities to find one worthy of your donation can take a lot of time. That's why Charlene Fekeshazy founded the Vancouver chapter of 100 Women Who Care — to make that decision as efficient and effective as possible for busy women in the city.

Four times a year, 100 women gather and meet for an hour to watch three charities pitch their case. Then, all 100 women vote and then write a $100 cheque for the chosen charity.

Fekeshazy says this process gives women the time and opportunity to have a big impact on a local, grassroots charity.

"They don't want to fundraise necessarily but they want to know where their money goes. This is an immediate direct impact."

100 Women Who Care keeps tabs on what charities do with the donated money. The charity that earns the donation vote is invited back to explain how the donation helped their cause. Fekeshazy points out the quarterly meetups are also a good opportunity for smaller organizations who can't afford their own marketing campaign.

This is an immediate direct impact.- Charlene Fekeshazy, founder of 100 Women Who Care's, Vancouver chapter

"That's what makes this so interesting — learning more about these community organizations that don't have the marketing dollars necessarily to get out there and have an outreach program."

The Vancouver chapter is meeting tonight for the second time at Steamworks at 375 Water Street. Fekeshazy says the group is always looking for new members.

"It's a great way to network for like-minded women. And an opportunity to meet new people," said Fekeshazy, who moved to Vancouver from Halifax last year.

The Vancouver chapter of 100 Women Who Care is only one of many in the 100 Who Care Alliance, which has almost 350 chapters worldwide.

What's your story?

This story is part of a special CBC Vancouver News series, What's Your Story? The series focuses on issues pitched by our audience about what matters to them. 

If you have a story to pitch about an issue in your community, send it to mylocalstory@cbc.ca

To listen to the full audio, click the link labelled: 100 Women Who Care gives to charities.