FAQs

Why is the required donation set at $1000?

We believe this amount ensures member commitment. It also keeps the cost of raising money for our grants low.

To raise $100,000 through individual donations of $100 each would mean recruiting 1000 members. It costs more to recruit 1000 people than it does 100. These higher costs would mean less money for the people who need it most — the grant recipients and the people they serve.

 

Why does Impact100 WA give the entire $100,000 to a single organisation?

One of our goals is high-impact giving. By collectively funding a big grant (through our sub-fund at Australian Communities Foundation), we can have a larger impact in a selected area.

In addition, when a not-for-profit organisation pieces together $100,000 from as many as 10 different sources, the not-for-profit has reporting requirements and related administrative expenses from each grantor, in addition to fundraising costs. An increased cost in the “chain” means less money ultimately goes to solve the problem. By giving one large grant, we have more impact and keep costs lower for the grant recipient and for ourselves.

If Impact100 WA raises more than $100,000, one or more smaller grants will be made.

 

Is my donation to Impact100 WA tax-deductible?

Yes. Impact100 WA is set up as a sub-fund to the Australian Communities Foundation (ACF) which is a registered Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) Item 2. Impact100 WA must operate in accordance to the legislative regulations of the ACF. The ACF administers all of Impact100 WA’s donations. Contributions made by June 30th are tax-deductible for the year preceding that. NB Private Ancillary Funds (PAFs) can only make donations to DGRs with Item 1 status and therefore cannot donate to ACF but we do have a facility for them to donate directly to our recipients – please contact us separately.

 

What is required of a donor?

Each person’s participation is dependent upon their personal situation and can change from year to year.

If a donor has limited time, they contribute their $1000 and come to the annual Awards Dinner to help vote for the grant recipients for that year.

If a donor has more time, they can join a sub-committee to get involved in the many aspects of our organisation. Examples of our sub-committees are: the Grants sub-committee (evaluates grant applications, including assessment evenings and site visits), the Events sub-committee (dealing with organising and co-ordinating our various events throughout the year) or the Communications sub-committee (covers newsletters, emails, promotion, media etc).

Also, opportunities to become involved as a volunteer or a board member with our grant applicants themselves arise often and can lead to deeper ongoing relationships with local not-for-profit organisations.

 

How does Impact100 WA stay in touch with its donors?

We use our website, our email newsletter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to stay in touch with our donors.

 

What if I want to contribute more than $1000?

Donations over $1000 are extraordinarily welcome! However, the policy of ‘one donor, one vote’ will still apply when choosing who will receive the $100,000 grants.

 

What if there are more than 100 donors?

We are delighted to report that this has been the case since 2015! Which has meant we have been able to make two grants of $100,000. In 2021 and 2022 we were excited to make three grants – encourage your friends, family and colleagues to get on board, too!

 

My company matches funds for charitable donations. Can I give $500 and have my company match it to make my total $1000 donation?

No. The entire $1000 donation must come from one individual. However, we appreciate matching funds from employers and can use these funds to increase the grant amounts.

 

Can I pay my $1000 over time?

While this IS technically possible, we request that you save the money until you have the full $1000. We ask this in order to keep our administrative costs as low as possible.

 

How is it possible that 100% of my contribution goes to the grant recipient? How are administrative expenses covered?

We anticipate that our ongoing annual costs will be about 3% of the total donated and use other means to cover those costs so that the whole of the $1000 donation goes towards the grantmaking.

We rely on the generous time and effort of volunteers and we also utilise gifts and sponsorships from individuals, local businesses, family and private foundations, and in-kind donations.

 

How do you decide who gets the grants?

Each year, we send out a call for Initial Applications. A grant review committee that is made up of our donors, who accept and evaluate these grant applications then selects a few to submit Full Applications.

These are then evaluated by researching and visiting applicants in order to arrive at the finalists. We deliver information on those finalists to each Impact100 WA donor for review.

At the annual Grant Awards Dinner in October the finalists give a short presentation, after which all members are invited to vote for their favourite by placing a pebble in a jar and the organisation with the most pebbles receives the $100,000 Primary Grant.

 

What are my obligations if I join?

Our only requirement is a $1000 donation. Of course, we hope you’ll take the time to make an informed decision when you join us in choosing a grant recipient.

In addition, you do have the option to get involved more deeply by joining a sub-committee (as mentioned above under What is Required of a Donor?). However, it is not obligatory.

 

Do I have to live in Western Australia to join?

No. Our donors can live anywhere, but all grants will be made to WA-based initiatives.

 

What is the timeline for the grant making?

All donations made by October each year are pooled and included in the grant for which the recipient is announced in late October.

 

How do you avoid conflicts of interest?

We are committed to acting with integrity in all of our relationships and in selecting grant recipients through an honest and fair process. In support of this commitment, our conflict of interest policy applies to all members of Impact 100, including committee members and donors.

We require donors (including committee members) to disclose conflicts of interest with any grant applicant. For instance, if a donor is an employee, executive, board member, founding member, consultant or mentor/coach to an organisation – whether these roles are in a paid capacity or pro-bono. We require these donors to excuse themselves from discussions where the organisation and/or the grant are discussed, for instance at the Focus Area group discussion, the debrief after the site visit, or the assessment evenings. This doesn’t affect the donor’s right to vote.

In addition, Impact100 WA expects all donors to act in an objective and fair manner and to refrain from any attempt to gain an unfair advantage for a particular grant applicant by, among other things, disclosing confidential information and/or attempting to influence the choice of another Impact100 WA donor.

We require committee members to disclose any relationships to any grant applicant or potential grant applicant. We also require committee members to excuse themselves from committee discussion and/or decision on any topic of potential conflict, whether that may be a perceived or objective conflict. For instance, but not limited to, Committee discussion around eligibility or financial review.