A Simple Way to Strengthen Santa Monica
Collective Giving.
Local Impact.
100 People Who Care: Santa Monica
About the model
We believe Santa Monica is strongest when its residents invest directly in its wellbeing.
By gathering just four times per year, we can move significant capital quickly to organizations making real change locally
Collectively, we can make generosity visible, powerful, and local.
We are a local giving circle, and membership is simple:
Four times a year, we gather for one hour.
Each member contributes $100 at each meeting.
Together, we direct $10,000 to one local nonprofit.
There are no fundraising emails, no galas, and no administrative overhead — just quarterly meetings and a shared commitment. Download the Program Overview.
Photo from Heal the Bay.How it works
60 minutes. One decision. Immediate impact.
Nomination
Any member may submit a local nonprofit they believe deserves support using the nomination form.
Organizations must be registered or fiscally sponsored 501(c)3 entities with operations in Santa Monica.
Steering committee pre-vets organizations for qualifications.
Presentation
Three nominations are selected at random one week before the meeting.
Nominating member and/or representative of the organization present and take questions for a maximum of 10 minutes.
Presentations take place in-person at quarterly meetings.
Vote + Fund
Members in attendance vote for one of the 3 presenting organizations.
The organization with the most votes receives the full pooled donation. Members donate directly to the winning organization.
The next meeting they return to share the impact of the funding.
Become a member
Join a community focused on pooling our efforts to drive impact for small, local organizations across a variety of issue areas. Fill out the form to the right to sign up, or you can download the form and bring it to the next meeting!
Commitment: I am pledging to participate in 100 People Who Care Santa Monica, and I am making a personal commitment to contribute $400 each calendar year ($100 quarterly) to local nonprofit organizations serving the Santa Monica region. I agree to donate each quarter to the nonprofit organization selected by the group’s majority vote. If I am unable to attend a quarterly meeting, I will either send my check with another attending member to deliver on my behalf, mail it as requested after the meeting, or pay online, if that option is presented. I also acknowledge that photographs and videos taken at events and meetings may include my image and may be used in promotional materials for Santa Monica.
Upcoming Meetings
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Innagural Meeting
9.22.26 7:00-8:00PM
Our first meeting. Aiming for as close to 100 people as possible. Presentations of 3 organizations.
Location to be shared soon.
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Winter Meeting
December 7:00-8:00PM
Details to come.
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Spring Meeting
February 7:00-8:00PM
Details to be released.