Without a doubt, when Hazel Bales and a group of Southern Indiana women founded the Women’s Foundation of Southern Indiana (WFSI) back in 2007, they had a vision. A vision that recognized the philanthropic potential of women in Clark, Floyd, and Harrison counties. While the women of WFSI made an impact in the lives of women and children in our community for years, they wanted to accomplish more.
In 2016, WFSI heard Wendy Steele talk about expanding and encouraging women’s role in philanthropy. Her vision of empowering women to see themselves as activists funding large grants to make an impact within their communities was exactly what the women of WFSI were hoping to achieve. In 2017, WFSI evolved into Impact100 Southern Indiana and awarded their first grant. Continuing into the present, a diverse group of women of all ages, stages in life, income levels, and backgrounds have come together to fund transformational grants in our community each year. After the first grant of $50,000 in 2017, Impact100 Southern Indiana has now raised over $550,000!
For more information about how Impact100 started, see our council story.