FORT BRAGG, CA., 4/26/25 – Continuing its history of exceeding expectations, 100 Women Strong Mendocino Coast raised over $21,000 at its semi-annual gathering at Eagles Hall in Fort Bragg, Calif. Three local nonprofits vied for the grand prize of $10,000, chosen through a vote of audience members and distributed on the spot.
This year’s $10,000 winner was the Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County. The remaining $11,000 was split between the Montessori Del Mar Community School and the Noyo Food Forest.
Since launching in early 2023, 100 Women Strong Mendocino Coast has raised over $96,000, including Thursday’s haul. The Community Foundation of Mendocino County supports the organization and its sister group, 100 Women Strong Inland Mendocino, with operational and underwriting support. Both groups are part of a grassroots national network of “giving circles” that aims to foster impact investing at the local level.
The fundraiser’s format is unusual and effective. Donors are asked to give $100 each, with the goal of reaching at least 100 contributors and raising at least $10,000. Donors who attend the event listen to three previously nominated nonprofits make a five-minute presentation on their work and spend another five minutes on Q&A. Unique among fundraisers, every penny that is contributed is distributed, and there are no strings attached to the use of the funds. As co-emcee Jamie Peters-Connolly of Visit Mendocino’s Tourism Commission, put it, “You can use the money for whatever you need it for.”
As in prior gatherings, each of the presenters made a strong case.
Ericka Lutz, co-president of the board of directors of the Noyo Food Forest, asked the audience to imagine students in NFF’s one-acre garden at the Fort Bragg High School running their own production farm and growing “super fresh” food to be served in the cafeteria. The NFF’s education hub has been operating for 18 years, providing not just “farm-to-cafeteria” produce but also internship programs, school field trips, summer camps, community workshops and opportunities for adult volunteers.
The NFF, Lutz said, “is a busy place.”
Lutz also pointed out that the area’s population is increasingly vulnerable to food insecurity. Any funds awarded will help NFF “up our food production, host more community workshops, plant more apple trees, mitigate gophers more effectively, and make the learning garden accessible to everybody,” she said.
“We want our local community to know how to grow healthy food in hard times,” Lutz summed up.
Chloe Reed, Montessori Del Mar’s executive director, asked the audience a question: “What if education was transformative instead of just informative?” She described the Montessori approach, in which “children ages four to 14 are given the freedom to choose their work” to foster “executive functioning skills,” without “rewards, punishment, or grades.” The school focuses on building “ethical leadership, environmental awareness and a desire to contribute to the greater good.”
Since 2007, Montessori Del Mar has served close to 200 families, many at reduced or tiered tuition rates. The school is the only nonpublic option for transitional kindergarten to eighth grade students on the North Coast.
Reed said that any money awarded will allow the school to boost its outdoor education and arts programs, pay for teaching assistants and other needs, particularly since the school’s historical fundraising methods have not been as successful in the current environment.
“If we are awarded this $10,000, it will empower our work,” Reed said.
Anya Jindrich, executive director of the Cancer Resources Center, also began with a question, asking audience members who had faced cancer themselves or had a close family member or friend who had battled the disease to raise their hands.
Nearly every hand in the room went up.
She then laid out CRC’s vision: “No one should face cancer alone.” Heads nodded as she spoke: “The words ‘You have cancer’ are life-altering.”
Chief among the services CRC provides is a patient navigator for every client – someone who helps prepare questions for the doctors, takes notes when the information is overwhelming, and provides a summary of the diagnosis and treatment plan. CRC also connects volunteers to patients who need drivers to take them to doctor appointments and radiology and chemotherapy treatments.
Jindrich told the story of one patient, Rose, and her indomitable personality. Even as the disease progressed, Rose joked with Jindrich and other volunteers about whether her young women helpers could find any eligible men on the North Coast.
“It is an honor to be allowed into someone’s life” when they are facing cancer, Jindrich said.
In the last decade, CRC has helped more than 3,000 patients in Mendocino County. Jindrich said that CRC would use the funds to continue to support its 7 paid employees and 12 volunteers, adding that its services are available to anyone, with no referral required.
Then it was time to vote.
As the ballots were counted, the atmosphere in the room was celebratory. Handley Cellars poured complimentary wine, and the Community Foundation, Harvest Market and Drop-in Donuts of Fort Bragg provided a buffet of pizza, falafel, vegetables and donut holes. The capacity crowd cheered upon learning that the fundraising record had again been broken, and that all of the groups would receive a sizeable sum. The crowd cheered again when hearing that CRC would walk away with the grand prize.
Audience members also filled out forms nominating three nonprofits, from the 100+ groups with a presence on the North Coast, to be considered for cash awards at the next gathering in October of 2025. Nominees must have been operating as nonprofit organizations in good standing for at least a year and serve the North Coast community from Westport to Gualala.
Volunteers then folded up the chairs, and the crowd dispersed, 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
Inland group of 100+ Women Strong to meet May 1
100+ Women Strong of Inland Mendocino County will gather Thursday from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Willits Senior Center to hear presentations from three inland nonprofits and vote on a winner.
The contenders are the Community Defense Collective, the Grapevine Quilters Guild of Mendocino County and the Willits Community Theatre. All are welcome to attend. For more information, visit the Community Foundation of Mendocino County’s website or call Karen Christopherson at (707) 272-5560.
For more information on the two branches of 100 Women Strong in Mendocino County, visit https://communityfound.org/community/leadership-projects.