2021 was another epic year of milestones for 100 Shares Tampa Bay!

• Despite the challenges that continue to surround us we had an amazing award ceremony in April and gave away the most money ever… $158,596 to two incredible ministries. (And $4,000 more after the award ceremony!)
• After a year of “just keeping up”, we’re back to adding partners at a brisk pace. As I write this, we’re up to 154! God is so good! We were hovering around 125 partners back in April…. Awe-inspiring! Our goal was to reach 170 partners by April 2022… And we MIGHT just make it! BUT IT DOESN’T EVEN MATTER. God does a version of math that far exceeds my expectations so whether we reach that many partners or not… we’re trusting Him for $170,000 in grant money. WOULDN’T THAT BE FUN??

Numbers aren’t the most important thing in our ministry, but they sure do bear testimony to God’s grace toward us, the partners and the ministries He brings to us, so let me share a few:

• $100,000 was granted to Tampa Urban Young Life (our SECOND $100,000 grant!)
• $58,596 was granted to Created Women
• An anonymous grant was sent in to provide $2,000 each to Fresh Start Ministries & Mentoring and Man Up and Go (the other two finalists)
• Total granted out in seven grant cycles over the last 7 years: $565,915

I encourage you to read about these amazing ministries and find out what they are currently up to. You can visit our website, 100sharestampbay.org, and click on the ‘Grant Recipients’ tab.

Site visits looked quite different in 2021 but our site visits chair, Beth Reed, did a marvelous job of pivoting and getting them all online. While they were excellent, they certainly weren’t the same as being in-person so we’re planning on live (and in full color) visits in 2022! If you aren’t signed up, be sure to visit our website and get registered asap. And bring a friend, because “Friends don’t let friends go to site visits alone!” 😊

We received 14 grant applications for the 2022 grant which is a little less than the last few years, so if you have a favorite ministry, tell them to watch our website for the grant application window to open and get those requests sent in early! After last year’s hybrid event it was so refreshing to be able to announce our finalists in person at our fall coffee (and actually have some coffee!). Liberty Manor for Veterans, Lighthouse Ministries, Man Up and Go and Oasis Pregnancy Center all shared with us how the grant funds would impact their ministries and change lives for Christ. Site visits really help us dive into the details so get signed up… don’t wait!

We’ve got some long-time board of trustees rolling off this year. Many have served almost since the beginning. We praise God for their sacrifice of time, talent and treasure and, while they will be missed (so much…), we’re welcoming a few new people that we’re excited about and can’t wait for you to meet.

We’ve continued to offer community group experiences through our prayer ministry and I can’t understate how amazing these groups are. I encourage you to participate as soon as you can! If you’re interested in being on the waiting list, just email me at info@100sharestampabay.org. You will NOT regret it!

We’re always looking to build up our committees (prayer, treasurer, events, site visits, partnerships and more…) so if you have an interest in helping out our hard-working board, please let me know. We’d love to co-labor with you!

Despite the challenges of 2021, maybe because of the challenges, 100 Shares Tampa Bay is flourishing. We are uniting generous, like-minded women (and a few good men) to impact our community in a way that honors God with the resources He has entrusted to us. Miraculously, despite being behind on partners, we are still on track to reach our goal to grant a cumulative amount of $1.8 million by the year 2027. And isn’t the money given to front-line ministries the most important piece anyway? This way, God gets ALL the glory… Amen? It’s a BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS goal (fondly known around here as a BHAG) that only God can accomplish.

We are grateful for each person who has gifted money, for each partner, for each ministry, for every extra blessing ($70,825 worth of extra blessings between the 2021 and 2022 grant cycle so far!) and for God's grace to continue the work He has set before us.
My two years as chair is up in May. I can hardly believe how fast time has flown. It’s been one of the privileges of my life to serve in this role. What a blessing God has poured out on me and on 100 Shares. Don’t worry…I’ll still be around… as long as there is breath in my body, I will praise the Lord through 100 Shares. This adventure train is just getting started.

I sure do love each and every one of you. See you very soon!

Angie Waldauer, Chair