Impact Giving, a Laguna Beach-based women’s collective giving group, granted six local nonprofits and one focusing on India with $125,000 at a recent awards ceremony.
One global grant of $30,000 was made this season to the International Princess Project, based in Corona del Mar. The money will allow 60 young women in India once enslaved in the sex trade to learn sewing and to transform their lives to independence and self sufficiency.
The Wooden Floor, formerly known as St Joseph Ballet, received $20,000. The arts-for-youth academy in Santa Ana is a catalyst that helps break the cycle of poverty in the community. The Impact Giving grant will provide 90 underserved youth with the academic tools and pre-collegiate support to make college a reality.
Just in Time, based in San Diego, received $18,000. The organization assists former foster youth and the grant will assist in providing emergency resources.
Miracles for Kids based in Orange County received $17,000. The organization’s mission is to improve the lives of low-income children with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses.
Voices for Children, also of San Diego, was granted $15,000 to recruit, train and supervise 75 court-appointed special advocates for infant foster children.
WISEPlace, an Orange County transitional housing program for homeless women, received a $15,000 grant to fund a program helping women achieve stability and self- sufficiency.
The seventh grant of $10,000 went to Costa Mesa’s Women Helping Women, to provide computer training and job placement assistance.
Impact Giving, established in 2009, engages, educates and empowers women involved in philanthropy. Each woman becomes a partner when she donates $1,150 annually or $99 per month, all of which goes to the awarded nonprofit organizations that are grant recipients. In its first year, Impact Giving gave $90,000 to seven grant recipients.
Impact Giving’s board chair Karen Wilson explained that grant applicants must be sponsored by partners, who screen grant requests. They determine the grant finalists and all partners have the opportunity to vote online for their top choices.
