Inland chapter of 100+ Women Strong to gift more than $10,000 to nonprofits Thursday in Willits

WILLITS, CA., 4/28/25 — On Thursday, 100+ Women Strong of Inland Mendocino County will meet at the Willits Senior Center to listen to pitches and vote to gift the grand prize of $10,000 to one of three nonprofits serving inland Mendocino County:  

The nominated nonprofits are: 

• Community Defense Collective offers training in situational awareness, self-defense and effective bystander intervention;  

• Grapevine Quilters Guild of Mendocino County, which donates handmade quilts to individuals and organizations, including cancer patients, disaster victims, seniors, foster children, and others; or  

• Willits Community Theatre, which besides its decades-long mission of staging theater productions, provides a performance venue for community events and trains people in lighting, sound, stagecraft and other aspects of putting on live performances. 

Each organization will give a five-minute presentation to make its case, followed by five minutes of questions from the audience.  

After the presentations, all attendees who have pledged a $100 donation will vote for the nonprofit they feel is most deserving. The winner receives the grand prize of $10,000, while the other two nonprofits split the remainder of the donations between them. 

The meeting in Willits follows last week’s 100+ Women Strong Mendocino Coast fundraising event that awarded $10,000 to the Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County and over $5,000 to two other nonprofits. 

How you can participate 

100+ Women Strong is an all-volunteer effort that welcomes everyone — regardless of gender or background. To attend the Thursday gathering, participants can make a $100 donation in advance at https://communityfound.org/community/leadership-projects/100-women-strong-inland-mendocino/.  

Donations may also be mailed to the Community Foundation (204 S. Oak Street, Ukiah) with a memo line of “100 Women Strong Inland.” Cash and checks will also be accepted at the door. 

The group was founded in 2019 and has raised over $225,000 to support grassroots nonprofits doing essential work in Mendocino County. In 2024, the group partnered with the Community Foundation of Mendocino County. Donations are processed through the foundation’s website. 

The event takes place Thursday, May 1, from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Willits Senior Center, 1501 Baechtel Rd., Willits.