Strength In Numbers

Maybe you're new to philanthropy.

Maybe you want to give but don't feel like you can afford to make a big impact. Or maybe you want to have more of a say in where your giving goes and see first-hand how it's helping.

Then, boy, do we have the charitable organization for you. (And we do mean boys well, men, anyway.)

Impact 100 Men Palm Beach County is the masculine incarnation of a women's giving network that started in Cleveland, Ohio, and then spread across the country. The concept is simple: 100 people donate $1,000 each for a grand total of $100,000. Local nonprofits submit applications, and the group votes on which ones get the money. Impact 100 Palm Beach County started in 2011 and is now 530 women strong.

"My goal was to outdo the women the first year," says Impact 100 Men founding member Chuck Halberg. "We had 50 members this year."

The Delray Beach resident grew up in Lavonia, Michigan, and moved to South Florida in 1980. It was a good childhood that Halberg describes as a little less than middle class, and it inspired him to help children have a childhood as happy as his own. Despite a long history of charitable giving, Halberg wanted to do even more and start his own organization.

"I was talking about it for probably a year. Then I met with Tandy Robinson, who was one of the founders for the women," says Halberg. "She asked me what was holding me back. Impact 100 is so powerful, and she just said, Why don't you call it Impact 100 Men?'"

Halberg got together with area residents Stephen Greene and Ted Hoskinson and in 2016 started Impact 100 Men. The network, which just finished its second year of giving, acts as a donor-advised fund for the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties and focuses exclusively on children.

This year's $50,000 grant recipient was Stem HQ, which brings robotics programs to local high schools, with a focus on helping lower-income students, according to Halberg. Last year, the Miracle League received funding for its handicap-accessible, barrier-free playground in Delray Beach.

"One man. One meeting. One vote," says Halberg. "It's just so easy. For anybody who is into philanthropy, it's great. You can really impact someone." O

For more information, visit yourcommunity foundation.org/impact100men.