Life Link, a local nonprofit, got an unexpected windfall on Wednesday.

More than two dozen women attending the very first meeting of a new group, 100 Women Who Care in Santa Fe, wrote $100 checks to the organization, which offers outpatient treatment programs for chronic mental-health issues.

This week, 100 Women Who Care will present the checks -- totaling $2,500 -- to executive director Carol Luna Anderson at Life Link.

According to Katie Rountree, a local business owner who proposed Life Link as the recipient of the evening's proceeds, the money will go to Sojourners, a special program that helps women and their children with shelter, rent, bus passes, baby-sitting, gift cards for diapers and other assistance. She said that 45 to 50 women with two to four children seek assistance every month, and some 90 percent are victims of domestic abuse.

Two other organizations proposed Wednesday were Farm to Table (by co-founder, Julee Coffman, an artist) and Warehouse 21 (by co-founder, Jody Feagan, director of sales for ART Santa Fe).

100 Women Who Care was founded last November by Feagan, Rountree and Coffman and Joan Murphy to support the community through philanthropy. Feagan, an "organizer at heart" who moved back to Santa Fe after a 20-year absence, said the idea behind the organization is that "Women are stronger as a group and can make a significant contribution."

Feagan first learned about the concept in Aspen, Colo., but it began in Jackson, Mich., in 2008, where 100 women at their first meeting raised $10,000 to buy 300 new baby cribs for an organization in their city. 100 Women Who Care has spread to many communities around the country including Grand Rapids, Mich., Santa Cruz, Calif., and Charlottesville, Va.

The idea is simple: 100 women sign commitment letters and agree to write $100 checks to local charities selected by the group at one-hour meetings held four times a year. The donations go directly to the organization. Representatives of the funded groups attend future meetings to tell the women exactly how the money was spent.

Each member who wants to nominate an organization for the evening's proceeds has to submit a charitable organization fact sheet. All the nominations are put into a hat. Three organizations are selected at random from all the submissions and the sponsor makes a five-minute presentation. Then, those present vote on which of the three 501(c)(3)s will receive the money. Finally, each member writes a check directly to the winning organization.

Each $100 is worth one vote. However, women can split their votes with friends or relatives.

Ideally, the charities selected get a one-time $10,000 infusion -- although it takes some time to build the membership to reach that figure.

Rountree said she was pleased with Wednesday's turnout -- 26 women, including three organizers. "Everyone seemed so excited," she said. "By the next meeting, we will be so much stronger. I can tell. Women said they had five other people they wanted to bring. [One woman] came with her 12-year-old twins. Women want to introduce this type of giving to their daughters."

The simplicity and the potential impact appealed to a number of women who attended Wednesday's meeting.

Karen Meador, a state employee, said, "What a simple, clear expression of concern and compassion, but also the power of women." She said she had her check in her pocket.

Gloria Silver, who got a friend to come to the meeting with her, said, "I think it's just wonderful -- for starters, that it's women. And I like the idea of getting to choose as a group." She predicted the word would get out and attendance at the next meeting in May would be much higher.

Ouida MacGregor, a former city councilor, came with her daughter-in-law Martha Dummer, a doctor, and JoAnn Sartorius, a suicide-prevention specialist. MacGregor said she liked the idea that this is a group of women, but then added that she'd do anything to have an evening out with her daughter-in-law.

Sartorius, who said she had emailed some friends about the meeting, admitted, "I don't have time to volunteer," and that this was "so quick and easy," not to mention "a powerful one-time punch" for a worthy charity.

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

• May 9, Aug. 8 and Nov. 7

• All meetings are from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Center for Spiritual Living, 505 Camino de los Marquez