Note: if a matter arises that has not been contemplated by this Policy document, or other 100 Women Who Care Toronto West documents on this website, Steering Committee Members have the discretion to deal with the matter in a timely manner. This will be followed by an update to the Policy document to reflect such process going forward.
1. Membership
Membership can take the form of:
· an individual membership, or
· a Team membership arranged by the individuals. Team membership provides that:
o up to four persons can constitute a Team
o one combined donation is to be submitted by the Team for each meeting that raises funds for local charities (3 meetings each calendar year)
o one tax receipt is issued directly from the charity for the amount donated by the Team’s donor
o the Team receives one vote.
Membership is confirmed once:
(1) the Membership Commitment Form has been submitted, and
(2) Members of the Steering Committee have been provided an opportunity to review and approve such membership.
Membership (individual or Team) includes a commitment to donate $100 per meeting.
Members are to honour their commitment of $100 per meeting even if:
· they cannot attend a meeting
· a charity is chosen that is different from the one voted for by the Member
For greater certainty, Members can participate either as an individual or as a member of a Team but not as both.
No Member may cast more than a single vote at each meeting even if their donation should exceed $100.
Voting is open to a Member after they have submitted their meeting donation.
Members remain on the active list until such time as they notify the Steering Committee that they no longer wish to participate in 100 Women Who Care - Toronto West.
2. Nominating an Eligible Charity
Every individual Member or Team can nominate a local charity for consideration for each meeting.
The current criteria for selection of charity nominations by our organization is that the charity is:
local, with an approximate fundraising revenue of up to 5 million dollars
serving the Toronto West community
a Canadian organisation
a charity registered and in good standing with Canada Revenue Agency, and
able and willing to issue tax receipts to individual Members.
In the event a charity has been chosen and has received a major donation, the charity is eligible again for nomination consideration no earlier than 3 years after the meeting where the donation was voted upon.
In the event a charity has presented but has not been selected for the major donation, the charity remains eligible for nomination consideration at future meetings. The charity is not automatically included in future meeting presentations, and must be nominated again.
A Charity Nomination Form is submitted to the Steering Committee at least four weeks prior to the next scheduled event, and the nominating Member is to ensure that the charity has been notified of such nomination. Deadlines for nominations will be published on our website, social media, and in emails sent directly to Members.
The nominating Member (or for teams, one member of the Team) and/or a Member of the Steering Committee are to be available to welcome the representative who will be presenting on behalf of their charity, and be prepared to present if necessary.
In the event that more than three charities are nominated, subject to the provision that follows, the first three qualified charities will present and the remaining charities will be invited to present at the next earliest opportunity.
If there are two or more qualified charities that have substantially similar mandates, as determined by and at the discretion of the Steering Committee, the first charity nominated will present at the upcoming event and the other charity(ies) will be invited to present at a future event.
Members are welcome to nominate multiple charities each year.
3. Donations and Distribution of Funds
Members (or Teams) donate $100 per meeting, with all funds collected going directly to the nominated local charities. Administrative costs are covered by our business sponsors and individual Steering Committee Members.
The chosen charity with the most Member votes will receive the primary donation (up to $10,000 collected from Members).
In the event of a voting tie, the primary donation will be split evenly among the top tied charities. Any charity not receiving the primary donation at a meeting will receive an honorarium of approximately $300.
Members’ donations will generally be given to the charity that has received the greatest number of votes, though some Members’ donations may be allocated to provide a secondary donation to one of the two other presenting charities (~$300). Where the total amount donated exceeds $10,600, the amount donated that is over $10,600 will be split between the non-primary charities.
Unless there has been an administrative error by the organization, refunds are not provided under any circumstances.
4. Voting
Voting opens following the three charity presentations made at the meeting, and is available to each Member / Team once their meeting contribution has been submitted.
Presentations are filmed and available for Members to watch online in the event a Member cannot attend the live meeting but has submitted their donation and intends to vote, or an attending Member would like to re-watch any portion of the presentations. (Note: The presentations also appear on public platforms to inform non-members about the organization, with a view to growing our membership.)
The selected charity for the primary donation is determined by the majority of Member votes.
For in-person, virtual and hybrid meetings:
all votes are captured electronically and Members must use the voting link to submit and validate their vote
voting is monitored by Members of the Steering Committee
individual votes are not publicly disclosed.
Voting closes at noon on the Friday after the meeting has taken place.
· Anyone attending the meeting who is not yet a Member - but would like to cast a vote for one of the presenting charities - is required to submit a completed membership form by 11:59 pm of the day after the meeting. This permits the processing of such membership application, the receipt of the donation, and the opening of the voting link for the new member.
· If a person’s membership has not been timely submitted and processed until after the voting period has expired, such new Member will not receive an extension of time to vote.
· No extensions will be given to new or existing Members, subject to the provision below.
If technical issues have been identified with the 100 Women Who Care Toronto West portal which delay or prevent applying / processing memberships and/or voting, Steering Committee Members will determine an interim measure to respond to the situation, and will notify Members promptly of such measure.
The results of the voting, and the charity receiving the primary donation, will be announced approximately one week following each meeting.
5. Tax receipts
Members will receive a tax receipt directly from one of the presenting charities by email or through the post.
In the event that the donation is shared by a Team, the Member who donated will receive one tax receipt from the charity for the total amount donated by that Team. Individual tax receipts for a portion of the team donation will not be provided.
Tax receipts are typically sent in a timely manner after the donation has been processed. Some charities issue receipts to members by February 28th of the year following the year of donation.
Business receipts will be issued in the event that a donation is made by an entity other than an individual.
Note: Nominated charities are required by our organization to agree that, with the exception of providing tax receipts, the charity will not contact Members directly in respect of their 100 Women Who Care Toronto West donation, or in respect of any subsequent outreach, where such charity is relying on personal information obtained from our organization.
6. Potential Conflicts of Interest
In order to protect the integrity and transparency of 100 Women Who Care Toronto West:
· Members shall not nominate or present a charity if they are a paid employee of such charity.
· Steering Committee Members will disclose to the Committee their relationship to a potential charitable nominee if their involvement with such charity is substantial.
· Steering Committee Members will determine reasonable steps to take (up to a recusal and / or abstention from voting) regarding decision-making involving any of the three nominated charities, to manage any actual or perceived conflict of interest.
This section does not impact the ability of Members to fulfill their donation obligation.
7. Contacting 100 Women who Care
Members wishing to contact 100 Women Who Care – Toronto West to discuss their membership, donations, or current policies may send an email to: torontowest100@gmail.com.
Revised on Date of Posting – January 2026