100+ Women Who Care Halifax is a community-giving circle of local women facilitating mass donations to charities in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Members meet 4 times a year, listen to presentations from three charities drawn from a member-nominated pool, and vote for a recipient. The members then donate $100 each to that charity through our Canada Helps page.

We are entirely volunteer-run, and 100% of donations made by our members go directly to our recipients.

Since 2013, donations from 100 Women Who Care Halifax members have totaled over $750,000.

You can find a list of past recipients here.

Giving circles are philanthropy groups that unite individuals to pool their money, time, or resources. Together, they decide how to choose beneficiaries and distribute resources, raising awareness for the supported groups and related issues.

100+ Women Who Care Halifax has four quarterly giving cycles each year.

For three of those cycles, charities submit written proposals following our submission guidelines. These submissions are compiled into a package and sent to all members to review. Members then vote online to select the charity that will receive that quarter’s pooled donations.

This process allows members to learn about the important work being done by local organizations and participate in the decision, even if attending a meeting in person is not possible.

Once each year, in June, we hold an in-person celebration meeting. At this gathering, members come together to connect with one another and hear from the charities supported throughout the year. The three charities nominated for that quarter also give live presentations, and members who are present vote in person to choose the charity that will receive that quarter’s pooled donations.

While the way we receive charity presentations has evolved, the heart of the process remains the same: local charities share their work, members review their stories, and together we support one organization each quarter.

In 2006, Karen Dunigan, the founder of 100+ Women Who Care, was having lunch with the executive leadership of the Center for Family Health in Jackson, Michigan. The Center’s CEO mentioned a critical need for portable cribs for new mothers, as many were using boxes, dresser drawers, or their own beds due to the high cost of proper cribs. Tragically, some of these babies didn’t survive the night.

Moved by this urgent need, Karen learned that $10,000 was required to provide cribs, mattresses, and blankets. She realized there had to be a quicker, more effective way to meet this need. With her extensive community connections, she decided to reach out to 100 women who could each contribute $100.

Karen organized a meeting, and within an hour, her friends contributed $12,800—more than enough to meet the need. This successful effort inspired Karen to establish the first 100+ Women Who Care. The concept was simple: members would meet quarterly to address immediate community needs, ensuring that the money stayed local and supported worthy causes that benefited many.

Members donate to the recipient organization through Canada Helps.

After each meeting, we provide a link to a CanadaHelps fundraising page, allowing members to contribute directly to the winning organization.

Absolutely not!

100+ WWC Halifax is organized and operated entirely by volunteers. 100% of the money raised at our meetings goes directly to the selected organizations!

100+ Women Who Care Halifax relies heavily on the generosity of our sponsors to cover administration and meeting costs. We send our unending gratitude to the sponsors who have helped facilitate donations to deserving charities throughout Halifax Regional Municipality. See our sponsors here.

From time to time, such as on our Birthday in March, we will “pass the hat” and ask members to make small cash donations to help with administration and meeting costs. It is totally up to you if you’d like to make a small donation, and all donations made by individual members are anonymous.

We began hosting hybrid meetings during COVID and have continued this format. Our meetings are held both in-person and online via Zoom, offering flexibility and accessibility for all members.

Members attending online will receive the Zoom link via email a day before the meeting.

You can become a member of 100+ Women Who Care anytime by filling out our online registration form.

An Active Member is a member of 100+ Women Who Care Halifax who is up to date on their donations. You do not have to regularly attend meetings to be considered an Active Member. If you think you may have missed a donation, please email us at

100womenhalifax@gmail.com

and we can confirm if you need to make a missed donation in order to remain an Active Member.

No, there is no fee to join.

We do ask that you make a one-year commitment to our group when you sign up. This means you commit to making four donations of $100 each throughout the year, for a total annual commitment of $400.

We do encourage anyone who is interested in our group to contact us about attending a meeting to see the process in action

So while you can attend one meeting as a non-member, voting at meetings is a member-only privilege.

To learn more, get in touch with us at 100womenhalifax@gmail.com

We ask that all Active Members of 100+ Women Who Care Halifax donate $100 to each recipient charity, whether or not they attend the meeting.

If you miss a meeting, you can still make your donation easily by using the CanadaHelps fundraising link sent to all members via email after the winning charity is announced.

Please email us at 100womenhalifax@gmail.com to end or pause your membership with 100+ WWCH.

Yes! Only registered not-for-profit and charitable organizations are eligible to receive a donation from 100+ WWC Halifax.

Donations are made directly to the charitable organization through the secure fundraising site CanadaHelps. CanadaHelps will email you your tax receipt.

All Active Members of 100+ Women Who Care Halifax can nominate a charity once each quarter.

Nominations are submitted through a private form, which is sent to members via regular emails. If you have not received this link, please contact us at: 100womenhalifax@gmail.com.

Members can nominate the same charity each quarter, increasing its chances of being randomly drawn as the charity’s name will appear in the Charity Nomination List four times.

Donations must be made through the Canada Helps fundraising page created by 100+ Women Who Care Halifax; you cannot send your donation directly to the charity.

After each meeting, you will receive the fundraising page link via email.

As a giving circle, our goal is to make a sizeable donation from the whole group – we want to join forces and make a meaningful impact for the recipient charities by donating a minimum of $10,000 per meeting.

Using the Canada Helps link allows us to track your donations, ensuring you remain an Active Member eligible to nominate charities, attend quarterly meetings, and vote for recipient charities.

All Active Members of 100+ Women Who Care Halifax can nominate a charity once each quarter.

Nominations are submitted through a private form sent regularly to all members via email. If you have not received this link, please contact us at: 100womenhalifax@gmail.com.

You can nominate the same charity each quarter, increasing its chances of being randomly drawn, as its name will appear in the Charity Nomination List four times.

Criteria for Eligible Charities:

• Must be located within and exclusively serve clients in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

• Must be a registered non-profit or charitable organization capable of providing tax receipts for donations.

• Must have been established for at least one year. Organizations that have been in operation for over a year but recently received charitable tax status are also eligible.

• If the nominated charity is a local branch of a national or international organization, the donation must be used entirely for clients within the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Yes! We encourage all Active Members of 100+ Women Who Care Halifax to nominate charities that are meaningful to them. Nominating a charity you are personally connected to does not constitute a conflict of interest.

Donations must be made through the Canada Helps fundraising page created by 100+ Women Who Care Halifax; you cannot send your donation directly to the charity.

After each meeting, you will receive the fundraising page link via email.

As a giving circle, our goal is to make a sizeable donation from the whole group – we want to join forces and make a meaningful impact for the recipient charities by donating a minimum of $10,000 per meeting.

Using the Canada Helps link allows us to track your donations, ensuring you remain an Active Member eligible to nominate charities, attend quarterly meetings, and vote for recipient charities.

Charities do not apply to present at our quarterly meetings. The charities that present are nominated by our members. If you know one of our current members, you can ask them to nominate your organization. Alternatively, you can join as a member and nominate your organization yourself.

We do not provide grants, loans, or other types of funding. Instead, we facilitate mass donations on behalf of our members to the charities they have nominated.

Charities cannot defer their opportunity to present at a 100+ Women Who Care Halifax meeting to ensure fairness for all organizations. Charities are typically notified about three weeks before the meeting, and allowing some organizations extra time to prepare could create an undue advantage. If a representative from your organization cannot attend the meeting, your charity's name will be returned to the draw for future meetings.

Please note, there are no restrictions on who can present on behalf of your organization. Many past presenters have sent volunteers or clients instead of executives or administrators.

Once a charitable organization has received a donation, they are not eligible to present again.

Yes! Charitable organizations that are not chosen to receive a donation are eligible to present again at future meetings.

100+ Women Who Care Halifax is part of a global network of 650 like-minded chapters. The 100 Alliance, our umbrella organization, supports local chapters in organizing and raising funds for community causes. The Alliance hosts bi-annual conferences to connect local leaders and share best practices.

The 100 Who Care family includes various chapters such as 100 Women Who Care, 100 Men Who Care, 100 People Who Care, 100 Businesses Who Care, and 100 Kids Who Care worldwide.

Learn more about the 100 Alliance and its activities here.

At 100+ Women Who Care Halifax, we are dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging throughout our organization—across our membership, partners, charities, and sponsors.

Yes! As a volunteer-run organization, we are continually seeking sponsors to help cover the costs of administering our giving circle and meetings.

If you are interested in supporting 100+ Women Who Care Halifax, whether through a one-time financial donation for administration or event costs, or by providing in-kind contributions such as a venue, bar, or food services/products, please contact us at 100womenhalifax@gmail.com.