Paying it forward: Women’s group pools money for local charities

What do Florence Shapiro, Betty Muns and Jenny McCall have in common?

All have committed years of service to Plano and Collin County. Now, these civil servants are finding ways to make an impact on the community after their time on the frontlines.

Former Plano school board member Mary Beth King was in the same boat and recently came up with a way for women of all ages and backgrounds to support some of their favorite local charities, as well as the lesser known ones, without committing to endless volunteer hours or fundraising campaigns. Women Making a Difference in Plano is a creative way to get local women more in tune with the community’s needs by familiarizing them with its outreach organizations.

With an hour of their time each quarter and the flip of a checkbook, women from Plano and beyond are joining forces to support four different nonprofits a year.

“It’s really great for those of us who volunteered for years but now our time is precious to us,” King said. “Really, what we would rather do is write a check to a worthy organization, and this also gives us a chance to hear what’s going on out there and to support those really worthy causes.”

Members meet quarterly and donate $100 per meeting. All the donations are then given to a chosen 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which the group learns about through presentations given by fellow members who choose to advocate for that group.

Any member may submit a nonprofit or project she has researched for consideration. The submissions are collected and three names are chosen by random draw at each meeting. After those three members make their presentation, the floor is opened for questions for 15 minutes.

Votes are then cast to determine which nonprofit or project will be that quarter’s recipient. The woman advocating the chosen nonprofit group then has the opportunity to personally deliver the checks to the organization.

All selected nonprofits are local to ensure that 100 percent of the monies collected remain in the Plano community, King said.

King decided to put her plan into action after not seeking reelection in 2010 after 15 years on the Plano ISD school board. When she revealed her idea to seven close friends who have served in different areas of the local volunteer community, King said she knew her timing was right.

“I said with the economy not doing that well, is this not a good time to try and find some members who can write $100 checks four times a year?” she said. “They all agreed that this is the best time. Nonprofits are especially in need of donations now.”

If 100 or more women give $100 four times a year, King said, Women Making a Difference can have a tremendous impact on the quality of life for many in the community. Best of all, she added, all of this can be done in just one hour without any stuffing envelopes, silent auctions or other fundraising endeavors.

And the impact is expected to grow, thanks to word of mouth, King said.

“We started small, some went out and maybe invited three or four friends,” King said. “We had 54 women at our first informational meeting. Now that we’ve had the first voting meeting, one member sent [the information] to 250 women and said she’s getting good response. I have no idea what to expect in April.”

The group made a $5,300 donation to Hope’s Door in Plano after its inaugural meeting in January. The domestic violence shelter helps women and children suffering from domestic abuse and is the only full service agency in Collin County.

Andrea Stroh Thompson serves on the board for Hope’s Door and was thrilled when Women Making a Difference chose her nonprofit for this quarter’s featured organization. Being a member of the women’s group, Thompson said she was impressed at the impact the group was able to make for Hope’s Door. It would take a nonprofit group a significantly longer amount of time and effort for it to make that kind of money on its own, she said.

“To see that kind of impact [happen] that quickly and decisively, it is really exciting,” Thompson said. “As a participant, I have to say there were groups [presented] that I had never heard about, and I pretty much grew up in Plano. It’s opened my eyes to many small nonprofits in our community that are doing great work. They don’t have big PR departments or maybe the exposure of a big board and big gala, and they don’t get the recognition. I hope and I suspect this will encourage a lot of people to get involved in many different ways.”

The next Women Making a Difference in Plano meeting will be held April 19 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Haggard Party Barn, 5948 McKamy Trail. For information and to receive a membership form, contact King at 972-423-5863.

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