Women of Impact Group Gives Back to Local Nonprofits
Writer / Rebecca Wood
Photography Provided
Michelle Obama once said, “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”
Women of Impact Boone County takes this notion to heart.
As a subsection of the Community Foundation of Boone County, Women of Impact is a women’s philanthropy group designed to create community and support local nonprofits. Boone County has reaped big rewards from those efforts. Since its inception in 2017, Women of Impact has donated over $275,000 to 27 Boone County nonprofits, with plans to continue its benevolent outpouring.
Phyllis Barkman Ferrell, a Lebanon resident, cofounded the group after witnessing needs within her community.
“For me it was mostly about food insecurity in our own schools,” says Barkman Ferrell. “When we moved to Lebanon, I became a board member of the Boys & Girls Club, and my husband was an administrator in the middle school. When I learned that a child sitting next to one of my own kids in class might be hungry, I said, ‘No chance – not on my watch.’ These are fixable problems. Not everything in our world is, but having kids with full bellies in our schools should not be optional.”
Barkman Ferrell collaborated with other women to create Women of Impact Boone County.
The group meets quarterly, with time allotted for social connections and philanthropic work. At meetings, vetted nonprofits hand out fact sheets about their organization to attendees. Then, three of those nonprofit organizations are randomly selected to share their mission and answer any questions. By evening’s end, members vote on which of those three charities receive a grant from the collective funds of the group. Four nonprofits receive support from Women of Impact each year.
Currently, there are 130 members in Women of Impact. Membership involves an annual donation, and that amount varies by membership type. General membership is a $500 annual commitment and includes one vote per meeting. Alternatively, women may share a membership with a friend for a $250 per person annual donation, and a shared vote. An associate membership is also available for women under the age of 30.
On average, the group donates $50,000 annually to local nonprofits. Recipients of the grants include organizations that support senior services, food insecurities, mental health, among many others. The fourth-quarter meeting of the year is always designated to support women and/or women and children’s organizations within the county.
“There’s something powerful when women get together, hear a need and want to fix it,” says Julie Reagan, vice president of advancement for the Community Foundation of Boone County. “This is a very productive, yet meaningful and emotional, way to give back.”
“The group is productive, professional, and the only thing limiting our ability to do more is growing our membership,” adds Barkman Ferrell. “There is room at the table for everyone.”
The next meeting for Women of Impact Boone County is on November 8 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Dull’s Tree Farm. To find out more information about the group, contact Reagan at julie@communityfoundationbc.org, or check out the Women of Impact Boone County Facebook group.
