This weekend, millions of people will gather around their TVs for the Super Bowl.
Some will watch every play. Others will tune in for the commercials or the halftime
show. Either way, it’s one of those moments when we all feel connected to the
same experience.
Watching the game always brings me back to one image I can’t shake: the sidelines.
You can care from the sidelines. You can cheer, worry, root, and feel invested in
what’s happening. But real change doesn’t happen on the sidelines. Action happens
on the field.
Twenty-five years ago, I saw that same dynamic playing out far beyond a football
game.
Impact100 was born in 2001, in the months after 9/11. Like so many women at the
time, I was paying close attention to the world around me. I cared deeply about
what was happening and wanted things to be better, safer, and more hopeful. At
the same time, the problems felt enormous, and it wasn’t clear where or how one
person could make a difference.
What I believed then, and what I still believe now, is that too many women remain
on the sidelines holding incredible insight, compassion, and potential. Not because
they don’t care, but because they don’t see a clear path into the work. They don’t
see a way into community service and philanthropy that feels accessible,
meaningful, and connected.
Impact100 was created to change that.
The model was designed specifically to remove the obstacles that kept too many
women on the sidelines. It is intentionally simple. Women come together. Each
member gives. Each member has a vote. And together, we fund local nonprofits
with significant grants that can truly move the needle in a community.
Because local nonprofits are already doing the hard work. They are embedded in
their communities, responding to real needs, and delivering real solutions. What
they often lack is the level of funding required to move beyond short-term fixes and
create lasting change.
Today, I hear echoes of those early days again. Many women tell me the world feels
heavy. They feel overwhelmed, discouraged, and unsure where to focus their
energy. They care deeply, but they don’t know what to do with that care. They worry
that whatever step they take will be too small to matter.
That’s an understandable place to be. But empathy without action can wear us
down. Compassion asks us to step forward, even if the step feels modest at first.
This is where community changes everything. Big challenges aren’t solved by one
star player. They’re solved when people show up, take a role, trust one another,
and move the work forward together. Every contribution counts. Every voice
matters. And when women act collectively, the impact is far greater than anything
we could accomplish alone.
Impact100 has always been rooted in that belief. Not I, but we. We live in a
connected world, where we rise and fall together.
So yes, enjoy the Super Bowl. Cheer for your team. Make the snacks. Watch the
commercials. But when the game ends, I hope you’ll remember this.
Caring from the sidelines is natural. Many of us start there. But real change doesn’t
happen on the sidelines. It happens when people step onto the field, take a
position, and commit to moving forward together.
If you’ve been standing on the sidelines, paying attention, worrying, and wondering
where you fit, there is a way into the game. Impact100 exists to make that step
possible by bringing women together to turn care into action, locally and
collectively.
The invitation is simple: step off the sidelines and get in the game.
