Crawford County’s Impact 100, a nonprofit organization with over 80 chapters where women come together to help improve communities, is accepting donations and applications locally. Letters of intent are due May 15 for the 2026 grant application deadline.

The Crawford County chapter was first launched in 2016 by Kathy Lasley, with the first goal being to recruit members through membership events. 

“The main idea about Impact 100...is you pull your money because you’re stronger when you pull it together, and then give it back out,” said Lasley, president of the Crawford County chapter. “Then you can watch as we’re giving out impactful grants and realizing you, because of you, the member, who donated their $500, made all this possible.”

The concept for Impact 100 is to bring together at least 100 women, each paying a $500 membership fee, and redistributing the $50,000 collected back into the local economy to impact the community. The chapter was awarded its first grant in 2017, and this year it finally reached its 100-member mark. Each grant is a minimum of $5,000, and in the past nine years, the organization has been able to give out a total of $329,000 to better the Crawford County community.   

The Impact 100 website shows what the awarded grants have accomplished, including replacing playground wood chips with safer rubber mats and mulch and creating more secure areas for preschoolers at the All Aboard Learning Center; helping the Crawford County Historical Society install exhibits with hands-on engagement and updating the digital displays for virtual tours of the History Museum; assisting Steelville Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry with the “Meat to Eat” program; installing handicapped accessible front doors at the Bourbon Area Community Center; and worked to help Viva Cuba with mural maintenance.

As long as the qualifications are met, nonprofit organizations that have a project in need of funding can apply for a grant from Impact 100 by mailing in a letter of intent to Impact100 Crawford County, ℅ Recipient Committee, PO Box 61, Cuba, MO 65453.

This will then go to the Grant Selection Committee, which is in charge of reading the letters of intent and grant applications to select the grant finalists.

According to the Crawford County Impact 100 official website, to be eligible for a grant an organization must be a 501(c)(3), 501(c)(8), or 501(c)(13) nonprofit, did not receive a grant from Impact 100 in 2025, and has been in existence for a minimum of two full years. Each IRS status type stated above has specific qualifications, such as charitable, religious, or educational, fraternal, or cemetery organizations.  

For a chance to be selected, a brief letter of intent, no more than two pages, must be mailed only and include a specific project (not an event). The amount of the grant the organization is requesting (in increments of $5,000, $10,000, etc.), a short description of the specific project for the grant, and how it falls under one of their focus areas (art, culture, tourism; education; environment, park recreation, community betterment; health and wellness; and families). 

Include details about the organization, such as a short history and its programs, how it impacts and the extent of that impact on the Crawford County community, and a brief description of the target population. A copy of the US Department of the Treasury letter affirming the organization is a tax-exempt public charity under one of these 501(c)(3), 501(c)(8), or 501(c)(13) nonprofit sections.