100 Women marks decade of delivering

Alicia Curtis’ passion for her work has not dimmed in the decade since she co-founded 100 Women in Perth.

“It’s up to each and every one of us to put our voice and networks and time and passion and dollars into something that’s going to create a better tomorrow,” said Ms Curtis, the group’s chief executive, during a recent interview with Business News.

Since March 2014, the female-focused philanthropic organisation has provided more than $1.2 million in grants and improved the lives of more than 37,100 women and girls.

Overall, 100 Women has contributed funding to 39 projects, 18 of which were delivered in Western Australia and five either national or based in other states.

The other 16 grants supported Australian charities to deliver projects in India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Nepal, Tanzania and Papua New Guinea.

More than 500 philanthropists have invested in 100 Women since 2014, and Ms Curtis said the charity offered a way for people to invest for social return.

“When we started 100 Women there were very few opportunities for funding for women-focused projects in Australia,” Ms Curtis said.

“I recognised this gap and I thought, ‘What better way to bridge between communities than to empower everyday people to actually create a fund … for women and girls?

“We know that sort of funding for women and girls has a huge return on investment for the whole community.”

She said the not for profit had a dual mission. “The first is to encourage greater diversity in philanthropy,” Ms Curtis said.

“Women especially, but also people from diverse cultural backgrounds, people who don’t often get to be in those rooms where money gets distributed.

“Secondly, to be able to develop a sustainable funding source for women and girls, here in Australia and globally.”

To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, 100 Women launched a project showcasing 19 former grant recipients and their projects in an exhibition called Hidden Heroes.

Ms Curtis said the milestone was an opportunity to reflect on the stories and projects funded during the decade.

“Ten years is crazy, it’s really amazing,” she said.

“I was just looking at a photo of the inaugural committee ten years ago at our launch … and to think we were able to create something that has had the longevity to hit our tenth birthday is amazing.

“But more than that, it’s the impact we’ve been able to create [and] the projects we’ve been able to fund.”

Executive officer Karen Brittain said 85 per cent of the projects to receive funding from 100 Women were still in operation.

“That might be in its own right or part of a larger project with that charity,” she said.

“Forty six per cent of the projects we supported required more than fifty per cent funding from 100 Women, so that essentially means if we weren’t able to fund them, that project may not have happened.

“We’ve impacted 37,100 women and girls, and indirectly benefited over 200,000 of their family members, friends, communities, governments and nations, so that’s pretty powerful.”

100 Women has a variety of goals, including reaching 2,000 members and delivering $1 million in grants per year.

“We have some really firm goals in our sights,” Ms Curtis said.

“We’re keen to keep building diversity and collective giving to be able to provide that gender-based giving.

“[T]hat gender lens on funding is still not quite where it needs to be here in Australia.

“We’re keen to keep building on the legacy we’ve created over the last ten years and keep growing.”

The support provided by 100 Women goes beyond the grants, with Ms Brittain saying the organisation provides its paying members with the opportunity to continue learning about the funded projects.

“I think that’s what a lot of our members love to see: what’s happened to [a charity] five years on? Is that project still running? How have these outcomes benefited women and girls in the long run, not just that original funding investment?” Ms Brittain said.

Ms Curtis agreed, adding that education had been a major aspect of 100 Women’s operations.

“We run education events to provide those opportunities for our members to get knowledgeable about issues that are happening, to understand the broader systemic issues behind these, to hear what our grant recipients are finding through their grants,” Ms Curtis said.

“[The] really unique projects supporting the infrastructure for women and girls and children over the years, we’ve been able to bring back … to share with our members.

“That’s why we’ve always tried to keep it general in terms of what we do fund.”

She said 100 Women worked closely with community to discover unique and authentic projects, with the grant application process designed to be straightforward to encourage charities with small teams and new charities to apply.

“There was a lovely quote from one of our grant recipients, Earbus Foundation, in our impact report around [100 Women having] that right balance of gathering the information needed … without being too onerous on these organisations, because they’re running on small funds and big grant-making processes are cumbersome on community organisations,” Ms Curtis said.

“There are many projects we are so proud of and being a WA-based organisation our members love to see the WA charities we support.

“But we also have a firm belief that women and girls everywhere deserve the same rights; if it resonates with our members, we’ll fund it."