Episode Five: Meet Nicole Spradlin founding member of Johnson County’s 100+ Women Who Care

Transcription: Episode Five: Meet Nicol Spradlin founding member of Johnson County’s 100+ Women Who Care

Kim Cole

Hi, everyone. I’m Kim Cole with Community Foundation of Morgan County. As many of you know, we are starting a giving circle called 100 Women Who Care this year. We have a very special guest from Johnson County today, Nicol Spradlin. Hi, Nicol.

Nicol Spradlin

Hi.

Kim Cole

Nicol was a founding member of Johnson County’s 100 Women Who Care, which was started 10 years ago. She is now the steering committee chairman and has been for several years. We want her to share with us how awesome this group has been in their community and why we need to all join in. Nicol, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Nicol Spradlin

Hi. Thank you for having me today. I’m honored to be here. I’m excited that you’re starting the 100 Women Who Care here in Morgan County. I first got involved in 2016. I was a Vice President for Old National Bank. I also had three teenagers. I found out about the 100 Women Who Care. At that time in my life, I did not have a lot of time to commit to volunteering outside of work and children, but I knew that I had the time for four meetings a year and the resources to do that. I got involved and I’ve never looked back. It was the best decision I ever made.

Kim Cole

Great. Yes. The meetings are quarterly, correct?

Nicol Spradlin

That’s right.

Kim Cole

So, the membership, you join the membership and then it meets four times a year. Okay. So how did you guys get started?

Nicol Spradlin

Carol Phipps was the founder. She had moved here from Illinois and was involved in 100 Women Who Care in Illinois and she loved it. So, when she moved here, she thought it’d be a great idea to start one in Johnson County. So, she called three women that were pretty connected in the community and pitched the idea to them. Well, they loved the idea. So that is where it first started. So, they all reached out into their contacts, and they had a luncheon to test the idea and got a lot of positive feedback from that luncheon. From there, they planned their first meeting and each of those women at the luncheon contacted all their friends and family and women that they knew that were connected. And that’s how the first meeting started is just word of mouth.

Kim Cole

Okay. That’s fantastic. So, luncheon, word of mouth, what have you learned over the decade?

Nicol Spradlin

Well, that’s a big question. We’ve learned so many things, but one of the things I’ve learned is I’ve learned a lot about the community that I live in. And there’s a lot of non-profits that are doing a lot of really great things in our community. And at each meeting, we learn a lot about different non-profits and what they’re doing to help and support our community. And so, I’ve learned that which has been invaluable. And I’ve made a lot of friends and had a lot of fun giving away money.

Kim Cole

Oh, sure. So, tell us how a meeting runs. How does it work?

Nicol Spradlin

First, let me say that we commit to $500 a year. The first $100 of your commitment goes into a general fund. And that general fund is used for minor administrative costs and any future community needs. The remainder of the $500, the $400, you pay $100 at each quarterly meeting. And that goes to the non-profit that is granted the money. So, at each meeting, each member can nominate a non-profit and then advocate for that non-profit. If the name is pulled from a purse, we actually use a purse to put the names in. And we draw three names that night. They have five minutes, each non-profit does, to pitch why we should give our money to them, what they’re going to use it for, and how it will help Johnson County residents. And so, once we’ve listened to all three of the non-profits, then we vote on who we feel like would be the best use of our personal funds. And so, it’s an individual vote.

Kim Cole Thrown in a different purse? All the votes go in.

Nicol Spradlin

Yep. Different bucket.

Kim Cole

Okay.

Nicol Spradlin

And then we count those votes.

Kim Cole

There, right there on the scene.

Nicol Spradlin
Right there on the scene.

Kim Cole

Okay.

Nicol Spradlin

We have four people count those votes to make sure that they’re accurate numbers. And then whoever gets the most vote, our money all goes to that non-profit, that night.

Kim Cole

That’s fantastic.

Nicol Spradlin

One thing we do is a Q &A, too. Once they give their pitch, we allow two minutes for members to ask questions, to fill in any gaps of things maybe that they want to know.

Kim Cole

Okay. That sounds like a very simple, fun business model.

Nicol Spradlin

Very simple.

Kim Cole

So how do the not-for-profits tell us about what their obligation is, then, after they win?

Nicol Spradlin

So we give a no-strings-attached award. We usually do a check presentation two weeks later. So, we show up at their storefront or wherever they run their business. And we do a check presentation. We give them all the checks. And we don’t have any strings attached. Typically, going into it, we already know what their plans are for the money because that was part of their pitch. And then we just ask. We ask them to come back to our next meeting and tell us what they did with it and give us an update.

Kim Cole

So how do you keep it fair? How do you keep from the same not-popular, not-for-profit from getting it every time?

Nicol Spradlin

That’s a great question. So, we have a two-year pause. Once you are awarded the grant, you have to wait two years before you can put your name back in the purse again.

Kim Cole

Well, that keeps everything fair.

Nicol Spradlin

It does.

Kim Cole

And everybody then has more of a fair chance. Okay. I love it. I love the business model. I came to one of your quarterly meetings last year, and it just seems like a wonderful organization, not just for collaborating with other like-minded women, but just a really great way to use a nominal amount of money, pooling the resources. And I’m sure that Johnson County has taken advantage at times of the Lilly triple match.

Nicol Spradlin

Oh, absolutely.

Kim Cole

And I’m sure that Johnson County has taken advantage of the opportunity to grow that fund. So, thank you, Nicol, for being here. I really appreciate it. And I do hope that everyone who’s watching will go to our website and check out the webpages for 100 Women Who Care and Guys Who Give. There is going to be a men’s group as well. And please give me a call if you have any questions and consider joining today.