Eligibility Criteria

Only members of 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun are eligible to nominate a charity.

Nominations must be submitted at least three (3) weeks prior to the next quarterly giving circle.

They will be vetted and approved or disapproved.

Charities must:

  • Be local and based in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.
  • Have 501(c)(3) status in Arizona for a minimum of three (3) years under the same name and EIN and be in good standing with the Arizona Corporation Commission.  *Organizations who meet the 501(c)(3) requirements based on their “religious” purpose will not be eligible for consideration.  501(c)(3) religious organizations include churches, conventions, associations of churches, integrated auxiliaries of churches, nondenominational ministries, interdenominational and ecumenical organizations, and other entities whose principal purpose is the study or advancement of religion.  This also includes schools who are under the umbrella of a religious organization for tax exempt purposes.
  • Have three (3) years of 990 tax returns on file and be willing to share that information with us, if not readily available on their website or GuideStar. In the case of smaller non-profits (annual gross receipts up to $50,000) who file an e-Postcard (Form 990-N), those organizations must be willing to share three (3) years of year-end financial statements with us.
  • Be able to provide charitable tax receipts for donations.
  • Be actively engaged in the community and executing their mission statement.
  • A fund held by a community foundation is eligible to be nominated.  Funds must meet the three (3) year minimum status requirement and provide the last three (3) years of quarterly statements from the Foundation.

Guide Star and Charity Navigator are helpful websites to verify information on charities.  Our Charity Selection Guide will help members determine if a charity has a solid foundation and is trending in the right direction fiscally.

Final approval of charity nominations is at the discretion of the Executive Committee.

In addition:

  • National or international charities, programs, or organizations will not be considered as the focus is on contributing to our local community. Organizations with a national association may be nominated provided the request is for a project to be delivered in the Phoenix Metro area. The funds must stay in our community.
  • Members of 100+ WWC Valley of the Sun may only have one (1) charitable organization nominated at a time.
  • If multiple members submit the same charity for consideration, we will encourage those members to work together on the charity nomination and presentation. Multiple nominations of a charity will result in the name being in “the hat” once. We do not stack the hat for multiply nominations.