Living Legacy Award Winner

The Giving Club

The Giving Club is a group of women who get together 4 times a year to pool their money, drink wine, and support nonprofits. At each meeting, members nominate a nonprofit by simply writing the name on a piece of paper; three pieces of paper are randomly chosen from a hat; the nominators have 3 minutes to say why the rest of the group should vote for that nonprofit; the group votes and every member writes a $100 check to that nonprofit. Simple! Easy, fun and IMPACTFUL.

The Giving Club was the brainchild of a few local rabble rousers who like to take chances and do good things:  Illene Roggensack, Deb Horwitz, Jacqueline Chappel-Reid, Michaelle Smith, Cindy Rhodes, Mary Beth Luedtke and Judy Vanderleest. They held their first meeting in August of 2014 with 64 members presumably, because they gave away $6,400 to the Western Slope Center for Children; by the second meeting three months later they met their goal of 100 members. And they were off: 

• Have had a total of 310 different women as members over a 7 year period.

• Currently have 185 members.

• 34 of the original 64 are still members today, so have been giving since 2014

• Highest amount awarded was $21,500 to Meals on Wheels

• And in total, the Giving Club has donated slightly over $470,000 to 27 nonprofits serving Mesa County Residents. VISIT their website for a complete list of the nonprofits who have benefited.

• And almost as important is the fact that this group inspired the formation of two others: in Montrose, the women created their own club and right here in Mesa County, the men were motivated to create their own giving club, too.