Jennifer has been a member and sponsor of 100+ Women Who Care Tucson for eight years. She has shown up every quarter, contributed to every Big Give, and watched this community of women do something most people in the philanthropic world would call impossible: make giving simple, joyful, and enormously impactful all at the same time.
None of that would exist without Desha Bymers-Davis.
Desha, Jennifer’s friend and one of the most visionary community builders she knows, founded 100+ Women Who Care Tucson nearly 11 years ago with a belief that felt radical at the time: that women in Tucson could come together in a way that was easy, light, and engaging to make a real difference for local causes. No galas. No committees. No complicated giving structures. Just women, a quarterly meeting, and a collective commitment to say yes to causes worth caring about.
The model is elegantly simple. Members contribute $400 per year and give one hour of their time each quarter. The result is a Big Give that regularly reaches $40,000 to $60,000 per event, directed toward organizations that often do not have access to this kind of philanthropic visibility.
Desha and the founding board held the torch for a decade. Earlier this spring, they announced an almost collective retirement from leadership, stepping back from what they built with grace and gratitude. Jennifer feels the weight of that legacy, and the responsibility that comes with carrying it forward.
“Being invited to help carry that forward is an honor I do not take lightly,” Jennifer says.
She joins the new board alongside Diana Charbonneau, Chrisie Ballard, and Helen Gomez, four women committed to honoring what the founding board created while writing the next chapter of this organization’s story.
At the most recent Big Give event, members heard from three organizations doing meaningful work in Tucson: Sister Jose Women’s Center, Forever Home Donkey Rescue, and Compass Affordable Housing. The group came together to award a $46,000 gift to Compass Affordable Housing, an organization working to improve the quality of individual, family, and community life through low-cost housing, support services, and advocacy.
Watching that check go to an organization doing such grounded, necessary work was a reminder of exactly why this community exists.
Since its founding, 100+ Women Who Care Tucson members have contributed a total of $1,488,100 to the Tucson community. That number says everything.
The new board is already looking ahead. The $2 million mark is not just a milestone worth celebrating. It is a signal of what is possible when a community of women decides to show up together, consistently, for the causes that matter.
For Jennifer, this role is not separate from her work at Raise the Bar Consulting. It is an extension of the same belief that runs through everything she does: that organizations doing important work deserve partners who are genuinely invested in their success. That strategy and implementation belong together. That showing up consistently, over time, is how real impact gets built.
If you are interested in learning more about 100+ Women Who Care Tucson or becoming a member, Jennifer welcomes the conversation.
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