Chapter Rules

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The following rules provide guidelines for how we run our meetings and chapter. The leadership team reserves the right to modify these rules or provide additional clarification as needed.

Membership

  • There is no cost or membership fees to join our chapter. We do not collect or hold any money directly.
  • By joining, you are committing to donating $100 per quarter for four quarters ($400 total). You can continue as long as you want.
  • If you do not meet your commitment for the previous quarter, you are "not in good standing."
  • Members who are not in good standing cannot submit charities or participate in voting.
  • You do not have to attend meetings – either in person or online – to continue your membership, although we hope that you do! You can mail a check or donate online and provide your receipt to stay in good standing.
  • If you do not submit donations for more than four quarters, your membership will be made "inactive."
  • As long as your membership is active, you will remain on our mailing list and continue to receive updates about meetings and selected charities.

Meetings

  • We meet quarterly on the third Tuesday every three months (generally January, April, July and October). There are some exceptions for holidays.
  • When you arrive, please find your nametag. If you have a ballot in the nametag holder, your membership is in good standing. If you do not and feel that is a mistake, please ask. (We're volunteers and humans and we do make mistakes!)
  • At each meeting, we follow this agenda:
    • The previous quarter's recipient of donations is invited to make a short presentation.
    • Three members in good standing present information about a charity up for vote. Each presentation is limited to five minutes followed by three minutes of Q&A.
    • Members in good standing vote.
    • The leadership team counts the votes and announces the winner.
    • Everyone either writes a check (made out directly to the charity) or commits to donating online and provides proof of the donation.
  • Before leaving, please return your nametag so that we can populate it with the ballot for the next meeting.

Eligible Charities

  • Organizations must be a registered 501(c)(3). (This is generally defined as "exemptions that apply to corporations, and any community chest, fund or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, educational purposes, to foster national or international amateur sports competition, promote the arts, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals." )
  • Organizations must have offices in Cuyahoga County or its bordering counties (Lorain, Medina, Summit, Geauga, or Lake). Donations benefiting national charities will not be considered unless there is a local group affiliation and the donation will ONLY benefit the greater Cleveland area.
  • Organizations must have been in existence for at least one year.
  • The organization must not have received funding from the Cleveland Metro chapter within the last two years. If they have received funding but it has been more than two years, you must disclose this in your presentation.

Submitting Charities for Consideration

  • Only members who are in good standing may submit a charity for voting.
  • New members must complete the commitment form, attend at least one meeting, and participate in that meeting's donations before submitting a charity.
  • If your charity does not win, you may submit the same organization again up to two meetings in a row. You must then skip two meetings and can resume submitting the same charity up to two meetings in a row.
  • Charities can be submitted for the next meeting at any time using this online form.
  • Three charities are selected for each meeting, along with the name of the submitting member, by random drawing. If the same charity is submitted by multiple people, the member associated with the selected submission will present.

Presentations

  • You have exactly five minutes to present. We apologize in advance if we have to cut you off, but limiting presentation time allows us to keep our meetings to just one hour.
  • We will hold up a sign indicating that you have one minute left and again when you have 30 seconds left in your presenation.
  • You are welcome to use the Charity Fact Sheet you filled out when submitting the charity as a guideline for your presentation, but you are not required to.
  • If a charitable organization has received funding any time in the past, either from our chapter or from another local 100+ WWC chapter, this fact must be disclosed on the submission form and during the presentation.
  • We cannot accommodate multimedia presentations, slides, posters, or anything else that would require setup.
  • You are not allowed to pass out materials either before the meeting or during your presentation. This limits the impact a large marketing budget may have on our decision.
  • Please come prepared with information about how checks should be made out and where/how online donations can be made (including any special requirements for filling out an online donation form).

Voting

  • Only members who are in good standing may vote.
  • Only in-person attendees will be allowed to vote.
  • If you are eligible to vote, you'll have a ballot in your name tag at the meeting.
  • The leadership team counts the votes during the meeting. All counts are final. We do not disclose details of the tally.

Donating

  • You may donate by writing a paper check or online, if the charity accepts online donations.
  • If the charitable organization accepts donations online, you may choose to use that option. However, you must email a copy of the donation receipt to the leadership team so that we can ensure you're in good standing. Instructions will be provided in the meeting's follow-up email.
  • Feel free to send a blank (signed) check to the meetings with a friend!
  • If you cannot make it to the meeting in person, you can mail a check to the leadership team. The address will be provided via the meeting's follow-up email.
  • Yes, your employer can match your donation! If there is a form, submit it with your check.
  • While your commitment is to give $100 to the winning charity, you're always welcome to donate more than $100 or give to the non-winning submissions. No credit is given toward your membership standing for this, however.
  • Your contribution is tax deductible since the selected organizations are 501(c)(3)s. Checks are written directly to them, not to 100+ Women Who Care. Please contact your tax advisor or visit the IRS website for more information.