A club that has been popping up across the nation is taking root with a chapter here in Coeur d’Alene. Its only requirements are that once a quarter, you spare one hour of your time and write a $100 check. That’s it.

Members receive a T-shirt and, better still, the satisfaction of knowing that their full contribution is going to a local charity.

The Coeur d’Alene Impact Club will hold its first meeting tonight at Paddy’s Sports Bar, 601 W. Appleway Ave. Impact Clubs started last year in Virginia, and Coeur d’Alene’s will be the 12th chapter nationwide. It is literally a way for people to come together and impact their communities with generous contributions to local nonprofits.

The concept is simple.

“Each Impact Club member can nominate up to three local charities,” said local Realtor and co-founder Cole Turnbull. “They can nominate the same charity three times if they would like. Each nomination gets a ticket in a hat. We draw out three tickets, then those charities have 5 minutes to present to the club why they should receive the donation.”

The charities have already been notified and given time to prepare their presentations for tonight. They are Newby-ginnings of North Idaho, Matt’s Place Foundation, and Children’s Village.

Check-in is 6:30 and meetings last one hour. Those who have registered online can pick up their new member packet and T-shirt, and those who have not preregistered can do so at the meeting.

Drink tickets will be available so people can enjoy a beverage while they mingle. The selected charities will begin their presentations at 7, immediately followed by the vote. Once the votes have been tallied, an oversized check will be presented to the charity representative, and a picture with all members in their T-shirts will be taken for press releases.

There are no fees taken and no administrative costs cut from the donations. The club will fill in the name of the charity on each check and hand those right to the charity representative that night.

“Impact Club itself is not a charity,” Turnbull said. “It is a platform to bring the community together with local 501 charities. We don’t deposit any money. We don’t have any bank accounts. There are no admin fees. So all money goes directly to the charities.”

With that being said, all donations must be in the form of cash or check.

Coeur d’Alene’s membership sits near 70 members. Turnbull hopes membership will reach or exceed 100. The club hopes to be a catalyst for inspiring others to make an impact with what they have, which is exactly what led to the founding of Impact Club Coeur d’Alene.

“My dad back in the ’80s donated a lot of time, money and equipment to Turnbull Athletic Field at Canfield,” Cole said. “It was important for him to support the community. He unfortunately passed away in the middle of building those baseball fields, and then they were dedicated in his name, so I basically took this on as a way to carry on what he started.”

Tonight’s inaugural Impact Club Coeur d’Alene meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Paddy’s Sports Bar located at 601 W. Appleway Ave.

INFO: http://bit.ly/2vUBmpf or impactclubcoeurdalene.com