Funding the Future: Three women-led philanthropies injecting millions into northern Michigan
December 2024
Women-founded businesses in the U.S. drive an impressive $2.7 trillion in revenue annually, yet capture less than 3% of the country’s venture capital funding.
It’s a major gap that the Traverse City-based Boundless Futures Foundation (BFF) wants to close. Started in 2023 by Good Bowl founder and entrepreneur Soon Hagerty and her husband McKeel, BFF awards grants and mentorships to help female-led businesses overcome barriers – financial and otherwise – that stymie growth.
“There are uphill battles when it comes to being a female founder,” said Soon Hagerty, pointing to a lack of early-stage capital as one of the largest hurdles. “Talent is distributed equally, but opportunities are not.”
BFF’s EmpowHer grant, which awards up to $25,000, was created to address those early funding needs and has so far been awarded to over a dozen startups across the country including Traverse City’s own Archie’s Dog Co., an all-natural dog treat brand.
When choosing BFF’s grant recipients, “we look at their business plan, we look at their critical thinking,” said Hagerty, adding that the foundation requires recipients to make a positive social impact, whether in their product, service, or a charitable pledge of their profits.
Capital isn’t the only obstacle when it comes to entrepreneurship, says Hagerty. As a wife, mother and member of the northern Michigan community, she’s familiar with the challenges women face navigating success both in their business and outside of it.
“We’re in a special, really positive time where women can be all things,” she said. “But with that comes a lot of pressure.”
Access to mentorship connections, which the foundation also provides, and early-stage capital, are critical to long-term entrepreneurial success when balancing those roles.
“You need both of those things from a technical standpoint to really have a great chance,” she said.
Like Hagerty, more and more of northern Michigan’s female leaders are looking for ways to spread capital. At Impact100 Traverse City, capital is going right back to local nonprofits in the form of grants.
“It’s regular women who have planned and set aside funds,” explained Lindsay Raymond, president of Impact100 Traverse City.
Raymond emphasized “regular” because Impact100’s funding model is anything but. One hundred women pay a $1,000 annual membership fee to the organization. Multiply all of those zeros and the total annual membership revenue comes out to a hefty $100,000 which is pooled and awarded to a local nonprofit or organization. Since launching in 2017, Impact100 Traverse City has awarded more than $2 million.
“We get a lot of applications every year,” said Raymond, who said that grant recipients are chosen by the membership via a vote at their annual meeting, where finalists present their causes and initiative plans. “We want them to dream big. They need to spend the entire grant amount within a 12- to 18-month window.”
While smaller-scale grants from other sources help fund the day-to-day operations at nonprofits, Raymond says Impact100’s six-figure grants enable organizations to scale their goals.
“People are reaching out to us to really grow and breathe life into a specific initiative or project,” she said.
Impact100 Traverse City's 2024 annual meeting. Photo by Arielle Sika.With a current membership of 348, the woman raised $348,000 in 2024. Looking toward 2025, they’ve set a goal of reaching 400 members by April, with an anonymous donor pledging an additional $100,000 to the funding pool if that target is met. If achieved, it would mean northern Michigan philanthropies could see a combined $500,000 boost later next year.
This year’s grants were split evenly among three recipients: Leelanau’s Friendship Community Center, the Thompsonville Area Revitalization Project, and the Northwestern Michigan College Foundation.
At NMC, the $116,000 grant will support the purchase of a 3D printing arm for the college’s Construction Technology program. Carolyn Andrews, the program’s coordinator, says that investing in the new equipment and resources could attract more students, including female learners who currently represent only 10% of NMC’s construction students.
With the increase in cost of living expenses, Impact100’s $1,000 annual membership isn’t an easy amount of money for most women to part with, admits Raymond, calling it a “stop-and-think gift.” Yet, despite the dollar amount and the rural membership area, the group's numbers have only grown since its debut-year headcount of 255.
“It speaks a lot about the women in our community," she said.
Meanwhile, when TCAPS’ Student Support Network saw a need to fund extracurriculars and provide holiday gifts for low-income students, the members of 100 Women Who Care Grand Traverse and Leelanau County pulled out their checkbooks.
The group is another giving collective that pools their funds to support local causes. Members gather quarterly at Traverse City’s Country Club, where they hear pitches from three local charitable organizations, ask questions and then vote on which cause they’ll each give $100 to. With a membership goal of 100, their current membership stands at 115.
100 Women Who Care grantee TCAPS Student Support Network with Kristin Marinoff (middle).The giving strategy is straightforward, explains Kristin Marinoff, who established the chapter with her mother, Renie Cutler, in late 2011.
“The women who are part of the group write their $100 check directly to that winning organization,” said Marinoff. “It’s super efficient. We meet for one hour from start to finish and at the end of one hour $10,000 (or more) is given.”
When she started the chapter, Marinoff was a mom with young kids who knew she wanted to give back to her community but didn’t know where or how to find the time.
After learning about 100 Women Who Care – which was founded in Jackson by Karen Dunigan in 2006 before expanding nationally – she knew it was the right fit for her schedule and budget.
Marinoff says there are some members of the group she’s never met because their own busy schedules resign them to voting absentee and mailing in their donation.
“It’s just fantastic when people who don't always feel like they're making a difference on their own are able to join their contribution with all these other women,” she said. “What might have been $100 is then $10,000 very easily.”
So far, the group’s funding has totaled close to $500,000.
To amplify its impact, 100 Women Who Care – Grand Traverse and Leelanau County recently partnered with the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, which matches some quarterly donations up to $5,000, increasing $10,000 donations by 50% to $15,000.
Emily Ballard of Single Momm, a recent 100 Women Who Care grantee.“I like to say we're for the little people,” said Marinoff, explaining that her organization’s small scale funding model requires less vetting and opens the grant process up to more grassroots causes that might otherwise not qualify for larger grants.
“That $10,000 has allowed an organization to just get up on their feet or maybe keep their lights on and keep their doors open until other funding comes through," she said. "So, you know, we're a much smaller giving organization, but I still think equally as impactful."
Photo at top: Impact100 recipients (photo by Arielle Sika).
