About Our Grant-Making

Ninety-nine girlfriends makes annual grants, called Impact Awards, in the Portland Metro/SW Washington region from a pool of money contributed by our members. Impact awards range from $50,000-$100,000 each year, depending on that year’s pool.

We fund equally in four focus areas, selecting nonprofits whose work is aligned with our vision of a more equitable future for all and our values of strength in diversity, collective action, and community impact.

Letters of Interest are due in early April. Then, we use our internal processes to select the ones that are most aligned with our vision and values. These organizations are invited to submit applications. During this time, our member-volunteer teams are learning about implicit bias, equity and inclusion, Trust-Based Philanthropy, and consensus building.  

Once applications are received, we continue with our internal processes, and each focus area team selects two applications to put forth to the membership. These finalists are announced, and our membership votes on which organizations will receive Impact Awards. The remaining finalists receive runner-up awards. Funds are distributed in late October/early November at our Awards Celebration.

At the end of each cycle, we solicit feedback from our applicants and members, devise and implement improvements based on what we learn, and start again.